A car crash on I-95 involving an illegal immigrant led Senator Rob Sampson of Waterbury to send a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont and Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) Commissioner Ronnell Higgins on August 3.
In his letter, Sampson described the incident: A driver lost control of her vehicle on the Pearl Harbor Memorial-Quinnipiac River Bridge and crashed into a concrete median barrier. Afterward, two of her relatives showed up at the scene in their own vehicles.
Connecticut State Police ran their fingerprints through the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, or NCIC/III, and found that all three were known to have entered the country unlawfully and were illegal immigrants. One of the driver’s relatives had a removal order.
“My office has received credible information indicating that law-enforcement personnel understood that they were prohibited by Connecticut law, agency policy or supervisory direction from contacting United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement concerning these individuals,” Sampson wrote.
Sampson asked for details about the accident, how officers responded, the people involved, and Connecticut’s immigration policies in the letter.
On Monday, DESPP responded to Sampson and told him that they were working on answers to his questions. On Wednesday, Sampson was informed that the delay might be caused in part by staffing changes in Lamont’s office.
“Some of the folks that maybe disagree with me politically are hard to convince that anything like this is even happening. They deny it. They say there’s no such thing,” Sampson said. “I’m trying to highlight incidents and prove that this is actually going on, and that’s the reason why I followed up on this one.”
Connecticut’s Trust Act prevents local and state law enforcement from working with ICE to deport illegal immigrants, unless those immigrants have been convicted of a class A or B felony. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued Connecticut over its sanctuary policies, including the Trust Act.
According to Sampson, some precinct officers go above and beyond in refusing to contact ICE. Sometimes officers refuse to investigate or prosecute criminals if they are in the country illegally. He did not comment on any specific criminal or immigration case.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has accused Connecticut law enforcement officials of intentionally obstructing deportations in the past.
On December 13, 2025, North Haven police arrested Christian Espinosa-Sarango and charged him with illegal sexual contact with a child and other sex crimes. Espinosa-Sarango is an illegal immigrant from Ecuador. Ten days after he was arrested, ICE lodged a detainer with the North Haven police department, but Espinosa-Sarango was still released from custody. In a press release, DHS officials claimed that Espinosa-Sarango had been intentionally released because of the state’s “sanctuary policies.” He was arrested by ICE agents on February 13.
“I am friendly with a number of police officers, local and state police officers across Connecticut, and they very often mention to me their frustration with the policy,” Samspon said about the Trust Act. He went on to say, “I think that people that you know sign up… to become part of the law enforcement fabric of our nation and our state are doing it because they have a genuine care about the public safety and responsibility to the communities that they serve and work in. When they’re being told effectively that they can’t do their job by apprehending criminals or turning them over to the proper authorities, I mean, I would have a tough time doing that as a job, and I think a lot of people do.”
This isn’t the only high-profile immigration story in Connecticut.
On July 13, Melissa Esperanza Ramirez-Romero, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, killed off-duty Bridgeport police officer Cooper Whiteside and his girlfriend Brittany Islami while allegedly driving drunk. Ramirez-Romero was arrested on July 24. ICE put a detainer out for her two days later. Ramirez-Romano is being charged with two class C felonies for manslaughter in the second degree. Her bond has not been set, and she is still in custody in a Connecticut detention facility, as of August 13.
News broke in July that an illegal immigrant who lives in West Hartford registered to vote in the state of Connecticut; that immigrant, Sead “Seyo” Cecunjanin, said that he had never voted in the U.S. and that he did not attempt to register to vote. The voter registration is not active.
Finally, the DOJ recently charged 11 people for a national marriage fraud ring. These individuals allegedly organized or entered sham marriages to help foreign citizens, most of whom were from China, get green cards.
Court filings claim that over 1,000 fraudulent marriages took place over the course of ten years, and “at least approximately 100 sham marriages” occurred in Connecticut between 2020 and 2023. One officiant allegedly performed “dozens” of these ceremonies, including one that happened in Middletown during the summer of 2023 and another marriage involving Angela Duenas, who is one of the 11 individuals indicted.
keep telling everyone the truth about liemonts ‘sanctary for criminals’ policies. until someone in his family is victimized by these criminals, he will just keep letting them get away – with murder, child rape, you name it. Thankful for Sampson’s efforts to protect citizens.
Not to mention the “cover up” with the driver in Ridgefield that killed the police officer and his girlfriend. She was illegal and was possibly registered to vote. It’s really hard to get a clear picture from our gov and press. Will someone please tell the truth in CT already!
There are “Sham” marriages occurring Every Day in New Haven. You can stand in city hall and see them. Right under the big nose of the mayor. Shameful.
https://insideinvestigator.org/proposed-bill-sham-marriages/