County Fight Active-Litigation

Connecticut/New Haven — DOJ Sues Over Trust Act and Sanctuary EO

New Haven, CT FIPS 09009

Current status: DOJ filed suit April 14, 2026 against CT, Gov. Lamont, AG Tong, City of New Haven, and Mayor Elicker, targeting the state's Trust Act and New Haven's 2020 sanctuary executive order under the Supremacy Clause. CT disputed the lawsuit as 'baseless,' and the state Senate passed a counter-bill granting residents the right to sue federal officers for civil rights violations. The Cheshire student case — an Afghan teenager and aspiring cardiologist detained by ICE — galvanized bipartisan condemnation and became the fight's most visible human flashpoint.

The Fight

On April 14, 2026, the Department of Justice filed suit in federal court against the State of Connecticut, Governor Ned Lamont, Attorney General William Tong, the City of New Haven, and Mayor Justin Elicker, challenging the state’s Trust Act and New Haven’s 2020 executive order as unconstitutional obstructions of federal immigration enforcement under the Supremacy Clause.

Connecticut’s Trust Act limits when state and local law enforcement may comply with ICE detainers: only when ICE presents a judicial warrant, when the person is on a terrorist watch list, or when the person has been convicted or pleaded guilty to certain serious felonies. In 2025, the legislature expanded the list of qualifying offenses to include sexual assault, strangulation, child endangerment, and protective order violations. The DOJ argues even the amended Trust Act unlawfully “singles out federal immigration authorities for disfavored treatment.”

New Haven’s 2020 sanctuary executive order — reaffirmed by Mayor Elicker — prohibits city employees from disclosing residents’ immigration status or using city resources to aid federal immigration enforcement.

CT officials responded with defiance. AG Tong called the lawsuit “baseless,” noting that “Connecticut is not a ‘sanctuary’ state — that term is meaningless and has no basis in Connecticut law.” In March 2026, Tong had already issued a guidance memo telling state personnel they are “generally not required” to disclose immigration status without a judicial warrant.

On the legislative front, the state Senate passed Senate Bill 397, which would ban federal agents from wearing masks during operations in Connecticut and grant individuals the right to sue federal officers in state court for civil rights violations. The bill moved to the House for final consideration before the legislative session’s May 6, 2026 deadline.

Timeline

2020-XX-XX: Mayor Elicker issues New Haven executive order barring city resources for immigration enforcement
2025-XX-XX: CT legislature expands Trust Act exceptions; legislature also passes HB 182 and related bills (see: Delaware companion entry for context)
2026-03-XX: AG Tong issues guidance: state employees generally not required to disclose immigration status without judicial warrant
2026-04-07: ICE arrests Rihan, 19, an Afghan high school senior and aspiring cardiologist, outside his Cheshire home; family holds humanitarian parole; father served as U.S. military interpreter
2026-04-09: Bipartisan press conference — lawmakers call Rihan’s detention “un-American”; Gov. Lamont, AG Tong, and Sen. Blumenthal pledge support
2026-04-14: DOJ files suit against CT, Lamont, Tong, New Haven, Elicker — Trust Act + New Haven EO challenged under Supremacy Clause
2026-04-24: Rihan released from Plymouth, MA ICE facility; welcomed home at Cheshire Town Hall by officials, teachers, and advocates
2026-04-XX: CT Senate passes SB 397 (right-to-sue federal agents, mask ban); sent to House

Key Actors

AG William Tong — lead state defender; called the suit “baseless”
Gov. Ned Lamont — defendant; pledged support for Rihan family
Mayor Justin Elicker — defendant; 2020 EO author
Sen. Richard Blumenthal — vocal critic of ICE detention; called it “un-American”
Rihan — Cheshire HS senior, Afghan national on humanitarian parole; the human face of the lawsuit’s stakes; released April 24

Why This Fight Matters

Connecticut is the first New England state to be named directly in a federal Supremacy Clause lawsuit over sanctuary policy. The case sets a template for DOJ’s attack on state-level detainer refusal laws across the country — laws modeled on Connecticut’s Trust Act exist in at least a dozen states. The Cheshire student case, running in parallel, demonstrated how abstract legal fights over “sanctuary” touch specific families and how bipartisan outrage over individual cases can harden political will to defend those policies.

Sources

This research is published at The RAMM — investigative reporting on the detention pipeline.

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