ACLU of CT’s public policy and advocacy director Chelsea-Infinity Gonzalez’s statement on Connecticut State Senate passage of H.B. 7259:
“The Senate’s passage of the Trust Act provisions is a meaningful step—adding a private right of action that offers important relief and expanding who can be held accountable for ICE’s entanglement in our communities. But progress that leaves people behind is not justice. We’re disappointed lawmakers added new felony carve-outs that revive the harmful narrative that some immigrants are disposable, dangerous, or undeserving of dignity. That logic underpins the very crimmigration system we’re fighting to dismantle. This step matters, but it’s nowhere near enough. We still need ICE out of courthouses, stronger personal data protections, and full accountability from every public agency involved in immigration enforcement. We need protections rooted in our values — not ICE’s, and not the system built to criminalize our communities.”
