‘We Are All Minneapolis’ — Lamont Signs Bill Limiting ICE Into Law

by Donald Eng CTNewsJunkie

HARTFORD, CT — A bill restricting the actions of federal immigration officials is now the law of the state, after Gov. Ned Lamont signed Senate Bill 397 Monday at a ceremony attended by dozens of elected officials and advocates.

The ceremony’s location, on the steps of the state Supreme Court and across the street from the State Capitol, was no coincidence.

Attorney General William Tong answers questions about Senate Bill 397 on the steps of the state Supreme Court on May 4, 2026. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie

“We are sovereign in this state, this is the sovereign state of Connecticut,” said Attorney General William Tong, gesturing over his shoulder. “That is why we have a Supreme Court. That is why we have state laws. That’s why we have a Capitol.”

The bill is rooted in the concept that no one is above the law, said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz. “Here in the Constitution State, the Constitution applies to everyone,” she said.

The law prohibits law enforcement officials from carrying out their duties while concealing their identities with masks, bans warrantless arrests in places like schools, hospitals and places of worship, and makes federal agencies liable when their officers interfere with a person taking a photo or video of another officer carrying out their duty. 

The bill passed the Senate 24-10 along party lines, and the House 91-54 with a handful of Democrats and every Republican voting against it.

Democratic leaders in the Senate cited the 250th anniversary of the nation, and called the bill another example of Connecticut “firing a shot in the fight for freedom against tyranny.”

In a statement, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney of New Haven, Majority Leader Bob Duff of Nowalk and Judiciary Committee Chair Gary Winfield of New Haven, said the nation was at a crossroads.

“The legislative passage of Senate Bill 397 – a Senate Democrats’ priority bill – to rein in federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ repeated and horrific violations of our constitutional and human rights is evidence that the principles of federalism enunciated in the 10^th Amendment are still viable and vital, despite repeated attempts by Donald Trump and Republicans to choke the life out of our national democratic tradition of dual sovereignty,” they wrote.

On the Republican side, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford called the bill-signing an act of political theater.

“They rushed in front of cameras to promote a flawed bill that invites litigation, exposes federal and even local law enforcement to legal liability, and even bars veterans from applying military training toward a law enforcement career,” he said. “Meanwhile, Connecticut residents are still waiting for direct relief from the affordability crisis these same Democrats created. Their priorities are badly out of whack.”

Tong said if the federal government challenged the law, he would be ready to defend it.
“This law may be challenged, and if it is, when it is, I will be waiting and Connecticut will win,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal speaks about ICE on the steps of the state Supreme Court on May 4, 2026. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said the bill was intended to protect state residents from the kind of tactics it had deployed in other states, and that had resulted in the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

“For anybody in Connecticut who’s wondering, ICE spans our nation. We are all Minneapolis,” he said.

Lamont, in comments immediately before signing the bill, expressed his thoughts that Connecticut was a welcoming state.

“Whatever race, color, creed, whatever background, wherever you were born, we know you. We love you. And you belong here in the great state of Connecticut,” he said.