This page is information, not legal advice. Connecticut has strong state-level protections for immigrant communities through the Trust Act, which has been expanded multiple times since 2013. These protections are real but have limits. ICE operates independently in Connecticut. Verify current conditions with a licensed immigration attorney, the ACLU of Connecticut, or the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants before relying on anything here.
Connecticut has protected immigrant communities through the Trust Act since 2013, making it one of the first states in the country to formally limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The Act has been expanded twice - in 2019 and again in 2025 - each time strengthening the prohibition on civil detainer holds, broadening the categories of state employees covered, restricting information sharing, and adding protections for schools, courts, and other public spaces. The 2025 amendments added something new to Connecticut's framework: the right of individuals to sue municipalities that violate the Trust Act.
Despite those protections, ICE conducted enforcement operations in Connecticut throughout 2025 and into 2026. In August 2025, ICE announced Operation Broken Trust, describing it as a four-day enforcement sweep in Connecticut that resulted in 65 arrests. ICE's own press release criticized the Trust Act by name. The federal government can and does operate independently in Connecticut. Knowing what the Trust Act covers, where it draws its exceptions, and where the protections have limits is essential for families living here.
Part 1: Your rights under federal law - everywhere, including Connecticut
These rights come from the U.S. Constitution and apply in Connecticut regardless of immigration status, citizenship, or how you entered the country.
At your front door
The Fourth Amendment protects your home from government entry without your consent or a judicial warrant. Two very different documents may come to your door.
A judicial warrant is signed by a federal judge, based on probable cause, and authorizes entry to a specific address. If ICE presents a valid judicial warrant with your correct address and a judge's signature, officers have legal authority to enter. Ask to see it through a closed door or window before opening.
An administrative warrant, typically ICE Form I-200 or I-205, is signed by an immigration officer, not a judge. An administrative warrant does not authorize ICE to enter your home without your consent. You do not have to open the door. Ask through the door which type of warrant they have. If it is administrative, you are not required to let them in.
There is ongoing litigation about whether an I-205 related to a prior removal order authorizes forced entry. Federal courts have generally rejected that argument as of mid-2026, but the law continues to develop. The consistent advice from immigration attorneys: ask which warrant is at the door, and do not open it for an administrative warrant.
During a traffic stop or street encounter
You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, your immigration history, or your status. You can say you are exercising your right to remain silent and that you want to speak to a lawyer. You can ask whether you are free to go. If the officer says yes, you may calmly leave.
Do not lie and do not provide false documents. Silence is a legal right. False statements to a law enforcement officer are a separate crime. Many families carry a printed card asserting the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney, which can be handed to an officer instead of speaking.
At your workplace
ICE may enter public areas of a workplace without a warrant. Private, non-public areas generally require a judicial warrant or employer consent. You have the right to remain silent regardless of where a law enforcement encounter occurs.
Do not sign anything without a lawyer
Documents presented during an ICE arrest may include voluntary departure agreements or stipulated removal orders that waive your right to a hearing before an immigration judge. These waivers are very difficult to undo. Do not sign anything without speaking to an attorney first.
Part 2: Connecticut's Trust Act - what it covers and how it has grown
Connecticut's Trust Act is the state law that limits cooperation between Connecticut law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. It was first passed in 2013, strengthened in 2019, and expanded again through legislation signed in 2025. The Act now covers a wide range of state and local employees and agencies and adds protections that did not exist in the original law.
The core prohibition: no civil detainer holds
The foundation of the Trust Act is a prohibition on holding anyone in custody solely on the basis of a civil ICE detainer request. A civil immigration detainer is an administrative request, not a court order signed by a judge. Under Connecticut law, a detainer alone is not legal grounds to extend someone's custody. If a person would otherwise be released, they must be released.
Connecticut law enforcement may cooperate with ICE if federal agents present a judicial warrant signed by a federal judge, or if the person has been convicted of a class A or B felony, or is subject to a federal terrorism-related warrant. Those are the core exceptions. Below those thresholds, local law enforcement in Connecticut is prohibited from honoring detainer requests.
Who is covered: the expanding list of agencies and employees
When the Trust Act was first passed in 2013, it applied to a defined set of law enforcement roles. Over the years, the coverage expanded significantly. As of 2025, the Trust Act applies to municipal police, the Connecticut State Police, school police and security officers, University of Connecticut and state college police, Department of Correction officials, judicial marshals, probation officers, juvenile probation officers, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Division of Criminal Justice including state's attorneys and prosecutors.
The 2025 expansion of the law to include prosecutors was significant. Connecticut prosecutors are now prohibited from using their resources to notify federal immigration authorities about someone targeted by a civil detainer, or to facilitate ICE access to individuals in their custody beyond what the Trust Act permits. The Division of Criminal Justice revised its policies in recognition of this change effective October 2025.
Information sharing restrictions
The Trust Act and its 2025 amendments restrict the sharing of personal information with federal immigration authorities. State and public agencies are prohibited from sharing personal identifying information, including home addresses, workplace addresses or hours, school enrollment or hours, and dates and locations of court hearings or agency appointments, for the purpose of immigration enforcement. This restriction was extended in 2025 to cover all public agencies, not just law enforcement, so that immigrant community members can access public services without fear that their contact information will be passed to ICE.
Courthouse protections
Connecticut's Supreme Court Chief Justice issued a policy in September 2025 prohibiting ICE agents from making arrests inside state courthouses without a judicial warrant. This was subsequently codified in legislation, HB 8004, passed in a special session in November 2025. Under that law, state agencies are banned from sharing personal information such as home addresses, workplaces, or dates and times of court hearings with federal immigration authorities. ICE agents may not make arrests inside state courthouse buildings without a judicial warrant.
These courthouse protections were a direct response to documented incidents of ICE agents arresting people at or near Connecticut courthouses, which had created a chilling effect that discouraged immigrants from appearing as witnesses, victims, and defendants in civil and criminal proceedings.
The right to sue: 2025 civil enforcement mechanism
The most significant new feature of the 2025 Trust Act amendments is that individuals may now file civil lawsuits against municipalities and their employees for Trust Act violations. Under legislation passed in May 2025 and effective October 1, 2025, someone who is harmed by a Trust Act violation can seek compensatory damages and attorney's fees from the municipality responsible. This was a gap that advocates had identified for years: prior to 2025, the Trust Act prohibited violations but provided no direct legal remedy for individuals harmed when officials cooperated with ICE in violation of the Act. The civil lawsuit mechanism closes that gap.
Criminal exceptions: the current list
The Trust Act permits limited cooperation with ICE in cases involving people convicted of serious criminal offenses. As of mid-2026, the exceptions permit local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE when someone has been convicted of a class A or B felony, is subject to a federal terrorism-related warrant, or has been convicted of one of thirteen specific categories of serious offenses that were added as part of the 2025 amendments. The specific list of offenses matters for individual cases. Whether your person's situation falls within an exception is a legal question that an attorney needs to evaluate based on the exact offense and circumstances.
Part 3: What the Trust Act cannot do
Connecticut's Trust Act limits what Connecticut state and local law enforcement does. It does not limit what federal ICE agents do on their own. ICE has full federal authority to conduct enforcement operations anywhere in Connecticut without the cooperation or permission of local law enforcement.
Operation Broken Trust in August 2025 illustrated this directly. ICE described Connecticut as a sanctuary state in its press release and criticized the Trust Act while simultaneously conducting a multi-day enforcement sweep. The practical effect of the Trust Act is that ICE cannot use local jails as a processing funnel for routine immigration enforcement and cannot get local officers to perform screening functions. But targeted arrests at homes, workplaces, near courthouses, and in communities happen independently of what local law enforcement does or does not do.
The Trust Act also does not protect everyone. People with convictions for class A or B felonies or the listed serious offenses are in a category where local agencies may cooperate with ICE. State corrections officials may transfer people with qualifying convictions to ICE. These are the same limitations that exist in California, Colorado, and other protective states: the protection applies most fully to people without serious criminal conviction history.
Part 4: What to do right now, before anything happens
Know your A-number and make sure trusted family members have it written down. It is on any prior immigration document. It is how the family locates someone in the ICE Online Detainee Locator after an arrest.
Identify an immigration attorney or legal aid organization before you need one. Connecticut has a strong nonprofit immigration legal network, including the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI), which served over 3,100 immigration legal services clients in 2025 alone. Having a name and number before a crisis means you are not searching during one.
Prepare guardianship documents for any children in your household. Even with Trust Act protections in place, a targeted ICE arrest at home can happen. Having documented standby guardian arrangements before a crisis protects children from being placed in state care.
Set up a financial power of attorney so a trusted person can manage your accounts and property if you are detained.
Know that if a Connecticut law enforcement agency violates the Trust Act in a way that harms you, you now have the right to file a civil lawsuit for damages. Document any encounter where you believe state or local officials cooperated with ICE in violation of state law. The ACLU of Connecticut and immigration legal organizations can help evaluate whether a violation occurred.
Part 5: Legal help and resources in Connecticut
The Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI) is one of the state's primary nonprofit immigration legal organizations, providing affordable legal representation in asylum, family petitions, employment authorization, naturalization, and removal defense. In 2025, their immigration legal services program served more than 3,100 clients statewide. Their website is cirict.org.
The ACLU of Connecticut has been actively engaged in Trust Act litigation and advocacy and publishes current know-your-rights resources. Their website is acluct.org.
Yale Law School operates two immigration-focused clinics in New Haven: the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC), which handles immigration litigation, habeas cases, and policy advocacy, and the Legal Assistance: Immigrant Rights Clinic, based at New Haven Legal Assistance, which represents immigrants in court and before administrative agencies. Both are resources for the New Haven immigrant community.
The Connecticut Immigrant Rights Alliance (CIRA) is a statewide coalition of community organizations, faith communities, and advocacy groups that coordinates immigrant rights work across the state.
Comunidades Sin Fronteras and other local community organizations serve immigrant communities in Danbury and other cities with large immigrant populations.
For immigration court case information, call the EOIR automated line at 1-800-898-7180. To locate someone in ICE custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov, or call the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024. People detained by ICE in Connecticut may be held at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island, or transferred to facilities in other parts of the Second Circuit.
Immigration Advocates Network maintains a directory of nonprofit legal organizations serving Connecticut at immigrationadvocates.org, which lists 28 Connecticut providers as of mid-2026.
Connecticut has built genuine legal protection for immigrant communities through the Trust Act, and the 2025 amendments strengthened it meaningfully by adding civil enforcement through lawsuits, expanding courthouse protections, extending information-sharing restrictions to all public agencies, and covering prosecutors for the first time. ICE still operates independently in Connecticut. The Trust Act limits local law enforcement cooperation; it does not stop federal enforcement. Knowing what the law covers, where the exceptions sit, and where to go for help is the foundation for protecting your family here.
This page reflects laws and enforcement conditions as of mid-2026. The Trust Act's 2025 civil lawsuit provisions took effect October 1, 2025. Courthouse protections under HB 8004 were enacted in the November 2025 special session. Verify current conditions with the ACLU of Connecticut, CIRI, or a licensed immigration attorney before relying on anything here.