by Viktoria Sundqvist CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT – Connecticut has to stand up and speak out to prevent unlawful detentions and deportations, speakers at an immigration policy roundtable said Wednesday.
The two-hour event at the Legislative Office Building was hosted by the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity (CWCSEO) after community members reached out and voiced concerns over current immigration enforcement policies, CWCSEO Co-Chair Alan Tan said.
“States like Connecticut have a clear constitutional obligation to protect its residents regardless of status,” Tan said. “We in Connecticut can continue to lead by example.”
Nearly 14% of Connecticut’s population was born outside the United States, US Sen. Richard Blumenthal said via a video message to those attending.
“We know that policies at the federal level have a direct and significant impact on our residents,” Blumenthal said. “Here in Connecticut, the Trust Act has been a crucial safeguard, but we must remain vigilant in protecting due process, and ensure equal treatment under the law.”
The state’s Trust Act restricts how Connecticut law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration authorities, and a bill to strengthen it is making its way through the legislature, despite objections from many Republican lawmakers. Advocates and lawmakers earlier this week also held an event calling for increased protections for immigrants in the state.
In schools, children are suffering or not attending due to the fear that federal immigration agents will come to find them, said attorney Cheryl A. Sharp, deputy director of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. Some fear that speaking up against harassment or wrongdoing will get them in trouble. Some people are dying and refusing to seek medical care for fear they will be rounded up or arrested, she said.
“The fear that they are feeling is real,” Sharp said. “Those most vulnerable in our population are afraid to come forward to seek redress that they are entitled to.”
And the fear is not limited to those who are undocumented.
“People who are lawfully here are being detained, and that is a problem,” Sharp said. “We have to stand up against that. Until we do that, no one is safe. You are next.”
Gov. Ned Lamont, who gave opening remarks at the roundtable, reiterated that Connecticut is a safe haven.
“I want everyone to feel welcome here,” he said. “We are proudly a nation of immigrants and I hate that we are turning away from that… I am not going to let that happen in Connecticut.”
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump signed another executive order that would withhold federal funding from so-called “sanctuary cities” and target officials that stand in the way of federal immigration enforcement. A federal judge last week blocked attempts to withhold funding from sanctuary cities.
Many speakers at Wednesday’s forum stressed that communication and education are both important to let immigrants know about their rights and that they have rights, but also to make sure that lawmakers know how their constituents are being affected.
Charles Venator Santiago, an associate professor at the University of Connecticut, also brought up the misperception of immigrants as criminals.
“Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, because they don’t want to risk getting deported,” he said.
But immigrants sometimes become victims, and it’s important they feel comfortable speaking up, several people said during the forum.
Many can also fall victim to scammers, who often prey on fearful immigrants and pose as lawyers or “notarios” to charge exorbitant fees for “protection services” or to fill out documents that may not be legitimate. It is crucial to get the word out about licensed immigration attorneys, said Dana R. Bucin, an immigration lawyer who recently helped a group of international students in Connecticut go to court after their student visas were revoked.
Immigration lawyer Dana Bucin speaks at the Immigration Policy Roundtable hosted by the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity on April 30, 2025. Credit: CT-N
In addition to the uncertain status for many international students, anyone who arrived in the country legally under any type of parole program set up by former President Joe Biden is also under threat, Bucin said, including Ukrainian refugees and people who fled Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua.
“Legal status after legal status is disappearing,” she said. “Many have arrived here legally, only to find out that their statuses have been revoked.”
“So many times, people try to regularize their status, and it’s just not possible,” said Tabatha Sookdeo, executive director of Connecticut Students for a Dream.
Sookdeo came to the country via her grandmother, who had filed all the proper paperwork with federal authorities but died before the process was complete, rendering the application void. This put Sookdeo and other family members in undocumented status, which can take decades to fix.
Emanuela Palmares, who was born in Brazil but is now a naturalized citizen, said she still doesn’t feel safe, but she reminded everyone that immigrants are strong and resilient.
“And they have gone through so much to be here and love this country in a way that some who were born and raised here will never understand,” Palmares said.
Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves, who was born in Brazil and became a naturalized citizen in 2017, said immigrants bring a lot to their communities and noted that detaining and deporting people without due process can have a devastating economic impact.
“Let’s talk about how there are 82,000 open jobs in CT. If the undocumented immigrants leave, how do we fill the jobs?” he asked. “We’ve got to be welcoming immigrants, not doing everything we can to kick them out.”
In a video message, Attorney General William Tong said he is continuously fighting for Connecticut’s right, as a sovereign state, to make and follow its own laws to protect its citizens, including immigrants who live and work here.
ACLU of Connecticut Policy Director Chelsea-Infinity Gonzalez said it’s crucial to push back against what she called federal overreach.
“Constitutional rights are not dependent on citizenship status,” she said. “This is foundational to our legal system. It seems as of late that it’s not widely understood.”