[HARTFORD, CT] – Today, Mayor Justin Elicker provided testimony before the Connecticut General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee, urging state lawmakers to strengthen the state’s protections for immigrants, restrict ICE from engaging in immigration enforcement operations in protected areas, and ensure greater accountability for constitutional rights violations by law enforcement.
Specifically, Mayor Elicker urged the passage of Senate Bill 91, An Act Enhancing the Investigative Authority of the Inspector General and Establishing Protected Areas, as well as Senate Bill 397, An Act Concerning Democracy and Government Accountability. In addition to Mayor Elicker, Superintendent Madeline Negrón and several other New Haven residents, advocates and officials provided testimony in support of these bills. Mayor Elicker’s spoken testimony before the committee can be viewed here (speaker #64) and his written testimony is below.
This advocacy builds on Mayor Elicker’s and the City of New Haven’s ongoing efforts to ensure New Haven is a welcoming city for its residents through local municipal initiatives and legal actions, including most recently filing an amicus brief in the lawsuit State of Minnesota v. Kristi Noem, et al. and opposing the Trump Administration’s proposed recission of the Public Charge rule that threatens to penalize immigrants for using public benefits and discourage individuals from seeking care.
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Testimony in Support of S.B. 91 – An Act Enhancing the Investigative Authority of the Inspector General and Establishing Protected Areas, and S.B. 397 – An Act Concerning Democracy and Government Accountability
Before the Connecticut General Assembly Judiciary Committee | Public Hearing
Monday, March 9th, 2026
Co-Chairs Senator Winfield, Representative Stafstrom, Ranking Members Senator Kissel and Representative Fishbein, and distinguished members of the Judiciary Committee.
My name is Justin Elicker, Mayor of the City of New Haven, and I am testifying in support of S.B. 91 and S.B. 397.
As Mayor and in overseeing our local law enforcement in New Haven, we know that the purpose of law enforcement is to protect public safety. However, what we have seen in some of the recent federal immigration law enforcement is a level of recklessness and chaos that is antithetical to this mission. SB 91 and SB 397 are strong proposals to ensure that constitutional rights are protected and public safety is maintained while federal immigration law enforcement action is taken – and that the tragedies that we witnessed in Minnesota can be prevented and that there is legal recourse and accountability when they are knowingly perpetrated.
Months after becoming Mayor of the City of New Haven in 2020, I signed our Welcoming City Executive Order, because we know the only way to ensure we have an inclusive, thriving, and safe city, is for all of our residents to feel safe interacting with local government personnel, reach out to local police, and accessing local government resources.
Similarly, SB 91 protects locations where residents can safely access government and community resources. SB 397 clarifies how interactions with government officials should be – with constitutional rights maintained and identification visible.
SB 91 draws from “sensitive locations” policy that had existed before the recent rescinding by the Trump administration to establish common-sense “protected areas” that we want our residents to be able to safely access without worry, such as schools, medical and mental health facilities, places of worship, places where children gather, social service establishments, places where disaster or emergency response is provided, and places of religious, civil or civic activity. This strengthens our communities – when our residents seek medical care, when they engage in religious and civic activity, receive disaster or emergency response relief and social services, and when our kids attend school without fear. Our residents should not have to think twice about accessing these resources, and protecting these areas from enforcement without a judicial warrant is essential to ensuring safe and healthy communities.
In New Haven, we have and continue to work on strengthening local protocols to ensure public safety and protect trust in our law enforcement. We work hard to ensure that people who wish to be productive members of our community are able to do so.
SB 397 strengthens accountability for all law enforcement – local, state, and federal – so that all government officials are subject to oversight and legal accountability to maintain trust in our institutions.
Thank you for your time and consideration, and I strongly urge your support for S.B. 91 and S.B. 397.
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PRESS CONTACT
Lenny Speiller: (203) 725-4249; Lspeiller@newhavenct.gov
