Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, Gettr, Truth Social, Twitter
This article has been updated to reflect a statement from Republican Senators Rob Sampson and Stephen Harding.
Today, the Justice Department published a list of states, cities, and counties identified as having policies, laws, or regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws.
“Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country.”
On April 28, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens. The Executive Order recognized that “some State and local officials . . . continue to use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws” and “[i]t is imperative that the Federal Government restore the enforcement of United States law.”
The Executive Order directed the Justice Department, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, to publish a list of such jurisdictions.
The state of Connecticut has been identified as sanctuary jurisdiction under this order due to the Trust Act which prohibits law enforcement from cooperating with federal agents on immigration work, or as Connecticut Attorney General William Tong describes it "commandeering" police to "do the work" of federal immigration agents.
Tong was upset about the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") once-again including Connecticut on its Sanctuary State list, and instead argued that DHS is "falsely labeling Connecticut as a state sanctuary jurisdiction."
“There is nothing in our laws or statutes that says Connecticut is a ‘sanctuary’ state. We are not. That is a term with no legal meaning, and the ‘characteristics’ listed here are a concocted fiction of the Trump Administration. This was true back in May when Trump first issued and retracted this erroneous list, and it remains true today," said Tong.
"It is the policy of the State of Connecticut to respect, honor and protect immigrants and immigrant families in compliance with the law," Tong alleged. "Trump’s own administration certified Connecticut’s compliance with 8 U.S.C. § 1373 in 2017. Nothing has changed to alter that certification, other than Trump’s unhinged fixation on defunding and commandeering our police. We sued the last time Trump attempted to defund our law enforcement, and we are prepared to defend Connecticut funding and public safety.”
Sen. Rob Sampson and Sen. Stephen Harding also responded to the news that Connecticut was once again labeled a sanctuary state.
“The U.S. Justice Department would be more accurate if it called Connecticut a ‘super sanctuary’ state, because that’s what Connecticut most assuredly is. That’s because Connecticut Democrats prohibit local and state law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities – including for those who have been convicted for violent felonies," said Senators Sampson and Harding who cited the following examples:
"Gov. Lamont recently said he doesn’t want anyone referring to Connecticut as a ‘sanctuary’ state. The U.S. Justice Department answered him quite clearly today," the pair said. "Republicans will continue to stand for law and order, and we will continue to stand with victims of violent crime.”
Public Act 19-20 / SB 992 aka "an Act Concerning the Trust Act" passed in 2019 and prohibited law enforcement officers, bail commissioners and others from cooperating with federal immigration officers unless an illegal had been convicted of a class A or B felony, was identified as a possible match in the federal Terrorist Screening database, or was the subject of a US District Court Order.
It also prohibited using any time or resources to communicate with federal immigration authorities regarding custody status or release of an individual targeted by a civil immigration detainer without written advance notice, and more.
Many of those responsible for passing the Trust Act in 2019 were still in office in 2025 when democrats proposed and ultimately "strengthened" the act via Public Act No. 25-29 (H.B. No. 7259).
The Trust Act now specifies more than a dozen additional crimes for which law enforcement can comply with a federal immigration detainer without getting into trouble, expands the definition of law enforcement officials covered under the Trust Act, and more.
Meanwhile, pleas from Connecticut citizens to repeal the Trust Act have gone unanswered.
Stay updated with the latest in the Constitution State with The CT Centinal
