CT bans ICE agents from wearing face masks. Now a judge is deciding whether to block the law
At a contentious hearing in Hartford, the Trump administration asked a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction against sweeping new restrictions on federal agents. Meantime, the state asked the judge to dismiss the administration's legal challenge.
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Can Connecticut force Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to show their faces and wear identification?
That question is now before a federal judge in Hartford after a contentious hearing on Thursday.
The Trump administration asked Judge Vernon Oliver to temporarily block the state’s new ban on law enforcement wearing masks. Meantime, the Connecticut Attorney General asked Oliver to dismiss the administration’s legal challenge to the law.
RECENT ICE ARRESTS
Thursday’s hearing came just days after ICE arrested nearly 100 people in Danbury and Stamford, leading to a “Day Without Immigrants” protest.
“We have three kids,” one detainee’s wife told News 12 last week. “It was very hard to find the right words. I did my best, told them Daddy’s not coming home.”
Videos of the arrests show agents wearing masks and refusing to identify themselves – despite a new state law requiring law enforcement to show their faces and wear a badge identifying themselves. It also bans arrests in “sensitive places” like churches, day cares and hospitals – and gives the state inspector general access to scenes where federal officers use deadly force.
“The U.S. will not direct its agents to abide by Connecticut’s mask and identification law,” Justice Department attorney Alessandra Faso told Oliver during Thursday’s hearing. “That is for the federal government to determine, not Connecticut.”
STATES VS. FEDERAL RIGHTS
Both sides believe the Constitution is on their side.
Faso argued that Connecticut’s law violates the Supremacy Clause, which states that federal law generally supersedes state regulations. District judges in New York and three other states have issued preliminary injunctions against similar laws, finding that DOJ is likely to succeed at trial.
“Connecticut has no ability to regulate how the federal government does things,” Faso argued. “Full stop.”
But attorneys for the state argued that the 10th Amendment gives Connecticut the “sovereign right” to regulate public safety within its borders.
“Officers are doing whatever they want,” Deputy Attorney General Timothy Holzman told the judge. “When ICE conceals who they are … it puts people at risk, it puts the officer at risk.”
JUDGE: TOUGH QUESTIONS
Oliver, a Biden appointee, hammered both sides with questions.
The judge asked DOJ what “burden” federal officers face by identifying themselves. Faso argued that the threat of prosecution has a “chilling effect” and that a “patchwork” of different state laws endanger agents.
On the other side, Oliver asked attorneys for the state whether the restrictions limit ICE ability to do its job.
“Agents aren’t being chilled,” Holzman responded. “They’re saying they’re ignoring these laws.”
On Monday, Lamont told News 12 that federal agents will not face criminal charges for violating the law, but individuals can file civil lawsuits.
“We can’t get in the business of arresting, you know, federal officers,” he said. “I don’t think that really is going to work.”
News 12 reached out to Lamont’s opponent for governor, Republican Ryan Fazio, for a response.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Oliver pledged to issue a ruling “in not too long a time.”
