HARTFORD, CT – Gov. Ned Lamont reassured immigrant families across the state that local schools have a plan to protect students from federal immigration raids.
“Schools only work if everybody’s coming and they feel safe being here,” Lamont said, while flanked by school superintendents and advocates at the Sports and Medical Sciences Academy (SMSA) in Hartford on Wednesday afternoon. “And that’s what this day is all about. There’s just a lot of press out there, a lot of noise in the media, a lot of fear out there in terms of, am I safe coming to school? Am I safe bringing my child to a beautiful school like this? And the answer is yes.”
Lamont and the others were present to reinforce the guidance issued earlier this year by the State Department of Education (SDE) regarding potential attempts by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to conduct raids in K-12 schools. The guidance instructs Connecticut schools to designate a point of contact for interactions with ICE to comply with lawful activities, but while also demanding proof of their authority in the form of a judicial warrant and other supporting documentation.
If agents do not have a judicial warrant or other supporting documents, they will be denied access to private student information. They are also barred from wearing masks while conducting their business.
“The most recent guidance from the state Department of Education has been very helpful to remind our staff that if law enforcement come to our schools and are asking for information, the process is clear,” said Steven Rioux, president of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents and superintendent of Putnam public schools. “Communicate with the superintendent, follow the law, and respect student privacy.”
Rioux acknowledged that while high school-age students have been seized by ICE in Connecticut, none of those detentions have occurred at schools. However, parents continue to voice fears that their children will be picked up ICE.
“The reality is our families and our students are concerned of the ‘what if,’” he said. “So many of our schools have received phone calls from families, and they really want to know what the proper procedures are, what the schools are going to do to help their children feel safe. So a part of a message and communication like today is just keeping people informed that there is a plan in place.”
East Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Anderson referenced the state’s Family Preparedness Plan, which offers practical tips for families who fear a loved one may be targeted in an immigration raid. Some of the tips include designating a trusted adult who can step in to take care of children, completing a standby guardian form, and when necessary, designating a power of attorney.
“We want every family to know that you are not in this process alone, and we have resources to connect and make this a little bit easier,” he said. “Preparedness should not be about fear, but strength and protection. When our families have a plan, they can face challenges with confidence and children can continue to grow and thrive in a safe, stable environment.”
Tabitha Sookdeo, executive director of Connecticut Students for a Dream, shared her own experience as an undocumented teenager in Connecticut, and the constant fear and stress she and her family endured. She called on the governor and the legislature to do more to protect immigrant families during the anticipated special session of the General Assembly later this year.
“I know what it’s like to be scared, to be hungry, and to be exhausted, while pretending that everything is fine,” Sookdeo said. “No child in Connecticut should ever have to go through that kind of heartache. And today, too many children are living through exactly that. This is the reality our students are navigating.”
Students were on hand to voice their concerns to school leaders as well. Nisa Rodriguez, a 12th-grade student journalist at SMSA, asked about what students should do if they are confronted by ICE. Rodriguez said that she asked the question in order to get critical information for younger students.
“For me, it’s a concern more so for the younger students,” Rodriguez said. “If they’re approached by someone in a mask and all this kind of heavy gear, they’re going to act out of fear. They’re not going to know how to react. Something that we don’t want to do is obviously make it easy for ICE to take them. I feel like students should be taught how to react in that situation.”
“I too want children to attend school and to feel safe at school. I too am concerned about chronic absenteeism and social promotion. Hartford High School, for example, recently awarded a diploma to an illiterate student who is now suing city taxpayers for millions of dollars in damages.
The news conference was followed by an emailed response from Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, who accused Democrats of offering zero examples of ICE conducting enforcement at schools in the state. Similarly, he made several allegations about Democrats’ motives on immigration, but like Lamont he offered no specific examples of supporting statements from Democrats. He suggested that Lamont’s meeting Wednesday highlighted “multiple glaring issues here in Connecticut.”
First, he said “many Connecticut Democrats believe there should be no immigration law enforcement in our state. They want to keep criminal illegal aliens on our streets, on our dime.”
Second, Harding said, “many Connecticut Democrats repeatedly insist Connecticut is not a ‘sanctuary state’. Ridiculous. We are the very definition of a sanctuary state, with Democrats protecting criminal aliens at the expense of Connecticut citizens.”
Third, he said “Connecticut residents overwhelmingly support removing criminal illegal aliens from our streets, but to Connecticut Democrats, that’s an apparently a bad thing. They had little if anything to say, for example, about ICE’s highly successful ‘Operation Broken Trust’ or the twice-deported Guatemalan man who was recently arrested for aggravated sex assault of a jogger in a New Haven dog park. Democrats also now want to prohibit state Department of Children and Families workers from talking to ICE with regard to the sex trafficking of children.”
Last, he said, “Democrats, like Gov. Ned Lamont, openly state that all illegal immigrants are ‘welcome’ in Connecticut. Really? Even violent and murderous Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gang members?”
Lamont has said that the state welcomes immigrants, is cooperating fully with ICE within the law, and has consistently emphasized that the removal of dangerous criminals is a top priority for state law enforcement, regardless of the immigration status of the accused.
There is no record online of Lamont ever suggesting that he welcomes “violent and murderous” immigrant gang members. The state Department of Correction has said that undocumented individuals who are released on parole or bail are turned over to ICE.
Multiple studies have proven that undocumented immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than native-born US citizens.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, Connecticut was estimated to have 113,000 undocumented immigrants in 2024, out of a total immigrant population of 591,000. Of the 113,000 undocumented immigrants in Connecticut 2024, some 73,000 were employed and 23,000 were homeowners, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
According to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants in Connecticut paid over $400 million in taxes in 2022.
According to the federal government, the process of immigrating legally to the US from Mexico takes three to five years. However, news reports indicate that there is a backlog of immigrants seeking US citizenship that stretches the wait to nine to 12 years.
PBS has reported that undocumented migrants come to the US from across the globe, but among those who arrived within the past 10 years, 19% came from Mexico, while larger shares came from Central and South America. Some new migrants arrive seeking work, others are fleeing crime, economic and/or ecological disasters, and political persecution in their home countries, making them asylum-seeking refugees.