On Monday, January 26, Connecticut State Senator Matt Lesser joined State Senators and advocates to discuss draft legislation to strengthen constitutional protections through Connecticut Law. While the proposal has been in development for more than a year, the killing by federal officials of two people in Minneapolis and feedback from constituents prompted Lesser and his colleagues to share the work.
Opening the discussion, Senator Lesser described how federal officials are claiming immunity for actions. “Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem have lied to ICE agents promising that they are protected by absolute immunity for their actions. That is simply not true. There is certainly criminal liability if you commit a crime, but we can do more to ensure that there is civil liability as well, that there is justice for folks who’ve had their rights violated.”
Other speakers at the meeting were State Senators Martin Looney, Bob Duff, and Gary Winfield, and ACLU Public Policy & Advocacy Director Chelsea-Infinity Gonzalez. The group proposed to create a state mechanism for people to seek redress for the violations of individual rights and liberties by federal officials. If passed, the bill will allow Connecticut residents to sue federal agents, including ICE, if their existing constitutional rights are violated. Many states have passed laws like this including Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, Illinois, and California. Lesser explained that these laws are in some cases longstanding and have been upheld in court.
Chelsea-Infinity Gonzalez stated that the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti “drew attention, not because they are unique, but because they made visible what black and brown communities have been naming for decades. What we know to be true is when federal agents use force, accountability is often nowhere to be found.”
Gonzalez described the goal of legislation would be to give a pathway for citizens to seek redress in state courts for violations. “Federal remedies are unreliable and in many cases inaccessible for a lot of people,” said Gonzales. “We’ve seen these constitutional violations happen already in Connecticut, just not to the same extent, and when they do, people have truly no clear place to turn. These federal courts are often out of reach. State courts are often closed to these kinds of claims…. We really need a state civil rights framework that makes it clear that when our constitutional rights are violated in Connecticut by federal officials, that there is a place to seek justice here.”
The legislation would not be without challenges, since the U.S. Constitution provides broad powers to the federal government in places where state and federal law conflict. Senator Martin Looney, argued, however, that legislation could be shaped so as to work within that framework. “If we pass such a bill, it really doesn’t violate the Supremacy Clause or the Preemption Clause, because these actions actually further the ultimate supremacy of the federal constitution by helping people vindicate their fundamental federal constitutional rights.”
Senator Gary Winfield emphasized that there have been 40 years of discussion on this point, since 1988 “when they brought the Westfall Act forward, it made it almost impossible to bring those claims”. The Westfall Act, also known as the Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act, provides legal protections to federal employees for actions taken in the course of doing government business.
Senator Looney explained that the proposed legislation would fill in a gap in laws and statutes. These include U.S.C. 1983, which would “apply to to state officials who violate federal laws”, and the Bivens Action which “can be brought to violations of Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful search and seizure, violations of Fifth Amendment equal protection laws based on gender discrimination and violations of the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.”
The Senators expressed a goal to “have a strong bill that will be part of our package of low numbered Senate bills.” The 2026 Regular Session for the Connecticut Legislature convenes February 4th, 2026 and adjourns May 6th.
