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Democratic attorneys general to respond to Trump's anticipated mass deportations

CT Attorney General William Tong
Ebong Udoma
CT Attorney General William Tong

Attorneys general from Democratic states are to meet this week to coordinate their response to President-elect Donald Trump’s anticipated mass deportation of immigrants, according to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.

“I will be meeting with my colleagues in person,” Tong said at a rally in Hartford on Monday organized by immigrant rights advocates.

Tong said Democratic attorneys general resisted Trump’s draconian immigration policies during his first term and are prepared to do so again.

“And I’m sad to say we are here again. But we went through this the first time with the Muslim ban and the border wall, and we are even more ready now,” he said.

That’s why they are coordinating efforts.

“We have been preparing and working on this for a long time. And I can tell you that we and all of our partners are ready for this. We are ready to stand up and protect as many people as we can,” he said.

For Tong, the issue is personal to him.

They say they are going to denaturalize American citizens. They are talking about my parents and my grandparents. And when they attack the American-born children of immigrants, and they talk about denying birthright citizenship, they are talking about me,” he said.

Several of Connecticut's big city mayors joined Tong at the rally to show support for their immigrant residents.

The event was organized by community-based organizations and immigrant rights groups, including Husky 4 Immigrants.

They have called on state officials to follow state law limiting collaboration between federal and state agencies in immigration law enforcement.

As WSHU Public Radio’s award-winning senior political reporter, Ebong Udoma draws on his extensive tenure to delve deep into state politics during a major election year.