Concerned that residents’ locations and schedules could be obtained by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, state lawmakers passed a bill this month to prevent public agencies from sharing such personal information.

The bill prohibits state and municipal agencies, including schools, from sharing an individual’s address, hours of work, public agency appointments or “any other information that provides the date, time or place where such individual may be located.”

Scott Gaul, the state’s chief data officer, said he will be working with agencies on procedures that protect the outlined information and how to handle requests for data.

“The underlying intent of the legislation is to make sure people can trust in government and feel that they can interact with state agencies and the benefits that they’re entitled to,” said Gaul.

Since March, the Trump administration has required states to provide “unfettered access” to information like names, birth dates, addresses and Social Security numbers from all state programs that receive federal funding. Connecticut did not comply.

Then, federal officials approached the state’s third-party vendor for SNAP recipients’ personal information.

The vendor turned down the request, but it was a warning to Gaul and others that personal information could be obtained through unexpected — and “aggressive” — means, Gaul said.

Gaul spoke recently at a series of seminars geared at helping nonprofits understand how to protect their clients’ sensitive information when data requests come through the back door.

At one seminar, Eric Giannella, a researcher at Georgetown’s Massive Data Institute, advised nonprofits to provide default answers for sensitive questions and use encryption keys.

But Giannella acknowledged that many of these methods have traditionally only been available to large organizations that have designated technology staff.

For Tabitha Sookdeo, executive director of CT Students for a Dream, it feels like a “Catch-22. You’re trying to protect [your clients’] data, but you really need it for your organization’s function.”

For example, in July, Sookdeo needed to find the parent contact information for a high schooler who was picked up by ICE. Sookdeo needed to have the data on hand but was concerned that if it were obtained by ICE, it would present a risk for her client.

“We have to become data experts,” she said.

The new legislation protects data held by Connecticut agencies, but it cannot stop federal agencies, such as the IRS, from sharing data with ICE.

Sookdeo has been fielding questions from young immigrants and their families about whether to pay their taxes this year. For many, “the benefits outweigh the risk, because, for lots of immigration purposes, if you’re filing and you’re in the process of trying to get something, you have to show continuous tax paying activity,” said Sookdeo.

Attorney General William Tong joined a multistate lawsuit in July challenging the Trump administration’s effort to collect SNAP recipients’ personal data. He also joined a lawsuit that blocks HHS from sharing personal information of Medicaid recipients with ICE.

Sookdeo notes that the new legislation does not specifically address reproductive health care, or the sex or gender of a person. Chelsea-Infinity Gonzalez, director of public policy and advocacy at the ACLU, said, “It’s encouraging that the legislature recognized this and took an initial step during the special session.”

While Connecticut has existing shield laws and “best practices” around maintaining demographic data privacy, “something that Connecticut does not have are really holistic privacy policies for the public sector,” said Gaul. “I think this is kind of a step in that direction. But, you know, there is more that could be done on that.”

Democratic control of both the executive and legislative branches has assisted Connecticut’s ability to protect its own data, Gaul said. Last week’s legislation passed largely on party lines, with three Republicans joining the vote to send the bill to Lamont’s desk.

In Vermont, Republican Gov. Phil Scott obliged the federal government’s request and handed over the data of SNAP beneficiaries, despite opposition from a Democratic-controlled legislature.

Connecticut has also been impacted by budget cuts to federal data collection.

States rely on the federal government to “set standards” of how data like race and address are collected, Gaul said. The Census homepage went dark one weekend, and the Department of Justice no longer collects data on gender-identity-based hate crimes, raising doubt about the reliability of federal statistical data.

For now, Connecticut will be selective of any cross-state data sharing initiatives, Gaul said. Some initiatives may been a “great idea three years ago,” but not now.

Angela Eichhorst is a reporter for the Connecticut Mirror. Copyright 2025 @ CT Mirror (ctmirror.org).