In his eighth and final State of the State address before standing for reelection, Gov. Ned Lamont portrayed his administration Wednesday as a bulwark against an erratic president, punitive federal immigration forces, the fiscal miscues of Connecticut’s not-so distant past and the struggles of wo rking families. Lamont, a Democrat seeking a third term, condemned the politics and policies of President Donald Trump without once uttering his name, decrying cuts to the social safety net and the provocative tactics of the federal immigration forces he’s deployed to American cities. “I’ve been around for a while, and never have I seen the world so divided, people so divided, drilling down on what separates us rather than what we have in common,” said Lamont, 72, who first took office at the midpoint of Trump’s first term. Lamont offered his hardest criticism to date of ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit central to Trump’s aggressive campaign to detain and deport unauthorized immigrants, but matched it with praise for state and local police officers whom he described as being of their communities, not occupiers and provocateurs. “We have perhaps the best-trained police force in the world, making Connecticut one of the very safest states,” Lamont said, addressing a joint session of the General Assembly on the opening day of its 2026 session. Legislators on both sides of the aisle stood to applaud. The bipartisan moment was brief. “ICE is just the opposite,” Lamont said. “They see the world as us versus them. They are not trained to deescalate — I think they are barely trained at all. They hide behind a mask. They come to Connecticut, and Minneapolis, to arrest people outside of schools, courthouses, often based upon the color of their skin.” On the Republican side, lawmakers no longer stood. Lamont was only beginning. “Some of our Hispanic kids are scared to go to school. Those kids at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven — we call them Dreamers,” Lamont said, a reference to immigrant kids brought to the U.S. as young children. “The White House calls them criminal aliens.” Lamont invoked and personalized the fatal shooting of Renee Good. “That young mother shot twice in the head in Minneapolis. The White House called her a domestic terrorist. She reminded me of my daughter,” said Lamont, the father of three young adults. Then he addressed ICE directly, “ICE, everywhere you go uninvited, violence follows. Go home. We’re keeping Connecticut safe without you.” Lawmakers cheer after Gov. Ned Lamont tells ICE to “go home” during his speech on the first day of the legislative session on Feb. 4, 2026. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror Democrats, who control two-thirds of the seats in the legislature, quickly rose, applauding, whooping and yelling.  They cheered for 40 seconds. On the Republican side, there were head shakes and dark looks. Rep. Kurt Vail of Stafford, a retired correction officer, walked out.  Lamont returned to a reference made at the start of his 38-minute speech, when he nodded to the coming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and to Thomas Paine, the revolutionary pamphleteer, whom the governor wryly called an original social influencer. Paine wrote “The American Crisis,” a series of pamphlets meant to rally Americans as the Continental Army teetered on collapse and chide those “sunshine patriots” who remained safely on the sidelines. Four times Wednesday, the governor quoted Paine’s memorable opening line: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” A political message In many ways, the speech was a departure for Lamont, a fiscal centrist and social progressive who prefers comity to confrontation and revels in moments of bipartisan compromise when they can be struck, especially on issues of taxes and spending. But Lamont also has sought and signed bills passed on party lines, most notably a revised Trust Act and one of the nation’s highest minimum wages. It was a campaign speech, framing his goals for the session and his message for reelection in a political climate currently favorable to Democrats. At least two men seeking his job watched from the House chamber: Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden, a Democrat waging an admittedly longshot challenge from the left; and Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich, one of three candidates for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. “I think it was a political speech that lacked leadership in terms of creating affordability in this state and exploited divisions in terms of his comments on law enforcement and immigration policy,” Fazio said. “We need to find common ground on policies, on issues like immigration, and we need to take convicted criminals off the streets.” Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, said the governor’s statement that ICE should leave Connecticut was startling. “I think that’s an absurd, far leftist policy that I’ve never heard him expound,” Harding said. Elliott, who previously has called on Lamont to be more aggressive towards ICE, quickly left the chamber and could not be reached for comment. Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, who also has been frustrated at times with Lamont’s reluctance to back legislation aimed at curbing ICE, said the tone and substance of the governor’s message were welcome. “I think the position he struck today in the building actually should send a signal to folks that the governor and the legislature are more aligned than they probably were in the last session, and that’s a good thing,” Winfield said. In other sections, the speech also reflected the governor’s preference to govern from the middle, keeping one eye on social needs and another on fiscal responsibility. It, too, will be an element of Lamont’s reelection campaign. Legislators and legislative staff listen as Gov. Ned Lamont delivers an opening address on the first day of the legislative session on February 4, 2026. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror He happily contrasted Washington’s inability to produce a budget with Connecticut’s ability to routinely deliver budgets balanced and on time, paying down pension debt and setting aside a fat rainy day fund. Those measures have allowed him and the legislature, sometimes with bipartisan consent, to do what few other states can afford — make up some of the federal cuts that have tossed people off SNAP and made health care unaffordable. “Getting our fiscal house in order has also allowed us to save young and growing families tens of thousands of dollars per year in child care costs. Our budget is still in surplus, allowing us to make another sizable deposit in our child care endowment,” Lamont said. Lamont and the legislature agreed last year to create an off-budget early childhood endowment aimed at one day providing free child care. “We’re well on our way to making universal early childhood education a reality,” he said. It prompted a standing ovation throughout the chamber. Lamont has agreed to higher spending, including a $500 million contingency fund to keep the social safety net substantially intact, if fraying. And he’s proposed rebates of $200 to singles and $400 to couples to offset the state’s high cost of electricity. But he warned against past practices of buy now, pay later. “Been there, done that,” he said. Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh and Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam chat after Gov. Ned Lamont delivered his opening address on the first day of the legislative session on February 4, 2026. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror Lamont concluded with notes of unity as the state and nation grow more diverse, an implicit if softer rebuke of the president and an affirmation of the governor’s view of Connecticut. He recalled attending the inauguration of Swarnjit Singh as the mayor of Norwich. The new mayor is an immigrant of India and the first Sikh to be a chief elected officer in Connecticut. One of those in attendance was Larry Pemberton, who soon would take his place in the General Assembly as the first Native American to serve. Lamont departed from his text and searched the House. “Welcome, Larry, it’s about time!” he said. There was laughter and applause. Legislators cheer for Larry Pemberton Jr., the first Native American representative, on the first day of the legislative session on Feb. 4, 2026. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror “Norwich has a rich history — first settled by Native Americans, Puritan revolutionaries to build the ships, later the Irish built the railroads, eastern Europeans came to work the mills,” Lamont said. “Later, the Sikhs from Punjab, to run the stores. Today there are over 25 languages spoken in Norwich.” The governor told the legislature that that is his Connecticut. ...read more read less