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| Rob Sampson |
That sentiment was encapsulated in a piece of legislation,
the “Trust Act”, that has now been amended by Connecticut’s current Democrat
dominated State Senate. And the changes are stunning, possibly even dangerous.
The “Trust Act", which prevents law enforcement officials in Connecticut
from enforcing ICE detainers, did not incorporate whatever “guidance from the
appropriate federal agencies on screening measures” in the bill. Illegal
intruders admitted by stealth into the United States are unvetted; in all such
cases, it is impossible to know who they are or where they are located – unless
the illegal intruder brings himself to the attention of law enforcement
officials, most often through the commission of a crime. It is impossible to
assert that ICE nodded its assent to a bill that created sanctuaries from ICE,
but the initial bill did allow reasonable exemptions – cases in which serious
criminals would be reported to ICE by state officials.
The updated version of the "Trust Act” now passed in
Connecticut’s Senate eliminates these exemptions written into the original law.
Senator Rob Sampson, who voted in favor of the original
legislation, rose in the Senate to speak against a revision that eliminated
exemptions that made the "Trust Act" palatable to him.
Sampson provided an account of his opposition: “Early
this morning around 2:30 AM, the State Senate passed one of the most dangerous
bills offered by the majority this session - an expansion of the state’s
sanctuary policy for illegal immigrants, the "Trust Act". This bill
eliminates the seven critical exemptions that still remain in our current law
which allow local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration
authorities.
“Those exemptions include situations where an undocumented
person in custody has been convicted of a felony; is subject to pending
criminal charges, has an outstanding arrest warrant, is identified as a known
gang member, is identified as a possible match in the federal Terrorist
Screening Database, is subject to a final deportation or removal order; or
presents an unacceptable risk to public safety.”
Sampson’s valiant defense of public safety, as well as his
objections to a revision in the "Trust Act" that vitiates the intent
of the law – to provide a safe space for peaceful and law abiding illegal
aliens and their children while, at the same time, protecting the general
public from prosecutable criminal aliens – may be found in the following YouTube
clip:
Here Sampson lists the exemptions found in the original
"Trust Act": Connecticut law officials may cooperate with ICE
detainer procedures if the illegal intruder: already has been convicted of a
felony; is subject to a pending criminal charge; has not answered an outstanding
state warrant; has been identified in federal data bases as a gang member; is
identified as matching someone listed in a terrorist data base; is subject to a
final order of deportation; proposes an unacceptable risk to public safety.
These reasonable exemptions have been expunged in the new
revised legislation that now has passed the State Senate, and the revision,
Sampson notes, leaves the very people seeking sanctuary from ICE exposed to the
predations of a criminal element that, thanks to the revision, may regard the
new law as a permit to continue criminal activity in Connecticut free of the
threat of deportation.
“Contrary to the overt misinformation campaign put forward
by proponents of this legislation, Sampson writes, “it does not protect
‘immigrants.’ Listen carefully as they seem to forget the word ‘illegal’ or
‘undocumented’ as if it doesn’t matter. Nevertheless, the bill doesn’t protect
‘illegal aliens’ either. It protects only one group of people – undocumented
aliens who are also criminals wanted by the federal immigration authorities.
“It’s a bizarre move. I was told the whole point of the 'Trust
Act' was to encourage illegal aliens to report criminals in their communities
based on the knowledge that they could ‘trust’ local police and were safe from
being reported to federal immigration officers. This bill ultimately applies
the same protection to the criminal next door!
“The result, of course, is that the public safety of all
Connecticut residents will be compromised, citizens and non-citizens alike –
even otherwise law-abiding undocumented immigrants.”
In the Senate, all Republicans and one Democrat voted
against the dangerous revision. The revised bill should slide easily through
the House, and it is doubtful that anyone in the state – legal immigrants,
illegal immigrants or native born citizens – will be safer once it has passed
into law.
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