On May 14th, the CT General Assembly Senate passed Senate Bill 992 on a Democratic partisan vote (20-15). The bill would expand the Trust Act, a law that seeks to protect undocumented immigrants from jeopardy during certain interactions with law enforcement and federal immigration officials. This legislative change to the 2013 Trust Act under SB 992 would eliminate certain exemptions and prevent federal law enforcement from detaining certain dangerous individuals.
This issue is deeply personal for me. I am proud to be an American and I am also a first generation immigrant and naturalized citizen.
The TRUST Act, enacted in 2013, was a response to undocumented immigrants in our state and our nation being detained or handed over to federal immigration officials for deportation despite not being convicted of any crime. In one local example, a resident of New Haven spent a year in detention for a non-violent crime he did not commit. After the charges were dismissed, they were handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) instead of being released. The original intent of the legislation was to protect nonviolent undocumented immigrants from being deported without due process, and restricted local and state law enforcement cooperation unless the individual was a convicted felon or otherwise deemed a security threat. I voted in favor of the Trust Act when it was enacted in 2013, but voted against the SB 922 expansion on the grounds of significant public safety concerns.
During the recent Senate floor debate, I spoke about how I am profoundly disappointed and frustrated that our federal government officials from both political parties have failed the people in America, both citizens and undocumented residents, on the issue of immigration especially in the area of separating families at our border – an inhumane immigration policy that has stretched from the Obama Administration to the current one. The Executive Branch and Legislative Branch of the federal government have also failed to collaborate or negotiate a pathway for the nearly 11 million undocumented residents currently in the United States. However, I believe that it is our state’s responsibility to protect and ensure the public safety of our all of residents (citizens & undocumented) of this state from danger within our own borders. This bill may well undermine that goal.
My biggest concerns about this bill are based on the issue of public safety. The amended bill requires a criminal warrant to detain an undocumented resident that is a known gang member, terrorist, or documented violent individual. The Trust Act, as it stands, protects undocumented individuals from persecution while ensuring that dangerous individuals can be easily apprehended to protect the safety of everyone else. The seven standards of risk removed from the statute are real and serious standards that currently help ensure public safety and I strongly oppose their removal from the statute. It is an irresponsible and dangerous choice.
Under the Trust Act, local and state law enforcement are required to detain an individual under a civil detainer without a warrant only if the individual
- has been convicted of a felony,
- is subject to pending criminal charges,
- has an outstanding arrest warrant,
- is a known dangerous gang member (identified by Dept. of Corrections),
- is identified on a terrorist watch list,
- is subject to a final deportation order
- presents an unacceptable risk of public safety.
Under the 2013 law, all other illegal immigrants are not allowed to be detained by local or state police via a civil detainer for more than 48 hours and/or transferred to a federal immigration officer. SB 992 would remove those exemptions, meaning all undocumented individuals would be protected from arrest under a civil detainer, even if they fall under those seven risk factors and present a danger to our communities.
This new bill also eliminates the ability for law enforcement to communicate with federal officials about the status of an individual named in a civil detainer unless also notifying the individual, prohibits allowing federal officials to interview a detainee, and prohibits disclosure of any personal and confidential information to federal agents. Under the bill, law enforcement must also provide the named individual with a copy of their civil detainer and inform them of the agency’s intentions to comply.
I strongly believe this bill dangerously expands the protections rightly afforded to non-violent undocumented immigrants to now include demonstrated and dangerous criminals, and I cannot support a bill that would possibly have such a dramatic negative effect on public safety.
Senate Bill 992
Senator Tony Hwang Senate Floor Comments: https://youtu.be/ASga9jHqHS0
State Senator Tony Hwang represents Connecticut’s28th senate district including the towns of Fairfield, Westport, Weston, Easton, Newtown and Sandy Hook. Hwang is the minority leader in the Public Safety and Security Committee along with membership on the Housing, Transportation and Higher Education Committees.
The post Senator Tony Hwang Raises Public Safety Concerns on Expansion of The Trust Act appeared first on Connecticut Senate Republicans.
