A new Connecticut law will provide further protections for the state’s immigrant population.

Senate Bill 397 holds government officials accountable if someone’s constitutional rights are violated by federal law enforcement and limits automated license plate reader surveillance.

Constanza Segovia, organizing director for the Connecticut For All Coalition, said another important piece of the bill is how it protects sensitive places from civil immigration enforcement.

"In Connecticut, we knew these arrests weren’t only happening in courts," Segovia observed. "We also needed to make sure our schools, hospitals, childcare centers, and places of worship were being protected as well."

The legislation was widely supported at a public hearing but some opposed it because they felt it loosened immigration enforcement laws too much. The bill is part of an ongoing effort by the General Assembly to craft more immigrant protections in the wake of greater federal enforcement, which was a primary issue during last year’s special legislative session.

Immigrant rights advocates noted there is more work to be done. Segovia and others are worried about the more than $8 billion in Medicaid cuts the state will face. While Connecticut has not seen the same level of coordinated immigration enforcement as Minneapolis, she acknowledged the new law alleviates one daily fear immigrants live with.

"We do live with that fear every day, that our kids will be picked up on the way to school, that our parents will be going to work and not coming back," Segovia outlined. "That is a very real daily stressor for immigrant communities."

Some advocates want state lawmakers to protect immigrants' state Medicaid coverage but it remains uncertain how much of the newly passed $28 billion budget can be used to backfill federal cuts.

Source: Public News Service