Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
@jrabethomas.bsky.social
Now: Investigative reporter at Hearst CT Media. Then: CT Mirror & WNPR. Forever: education & housing reporter. Fan of long interviews, caffeine & tips. https://www.ctinsider.com/author/jacqueline-rabe-thomas/
NEW: U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and others had harsh words for the Trump administration Friday after our investigation into immigrant children who spent months in federal custody. My latest w/ @jrabethomas.bsky.social at @ctinsider.bsky.social — www.ctinsider.com/news/article... #nutmegsky
DeLauro: Trump intentionally delaying immigrant children's release
U.S. Rep. Rosa Delauro called for action Friday on unaccompanied immigrant children held for months in federal custody.
ctinsider.com
Kids in Connecticut are being detained for nearly 7 months, on average. Here's what could change that
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas@jrabethomas.bsky.social · 2w ago"Don't go. Don't go." That's what 5-year-old Camila begged her mom each week when their one hour together ended. An immigrant child in federal custody, Camila watched through the window as her mother left for home — just miles away. Weeks passed. Then months.🧵
More than two dozen unaccompanied immigrant children were in federal custody in Connecticut on a typical day this spring — alone and isolated from family.
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas@jrabethomas.bsky.social · 2w ago"Don't go. Don't go." That's what 5-year-old Camila begged her mom each week when their one hour together ended. An immigrant child in federal custody, Camila watched through the window as her mother left for home — just miles away. Weeks passed. Then months.🧵
"Don't go. Don't go." That's what 5-year-old Camila begged her mom each week when their one hour together ended. An immigrant child in federal custody, Camila watched through the window as her mother left for home — just miles away. Weeks passed. Then months.🧵
Eventually she began to beg her mom to stay, panicking through tears — "Don't go. Don't go," — and asking the same question in a loop: “When? When? When?” “Soon. Soon,” her mom told Camila, hoping it was true. Stunning reporting from @joshuaeaton.bsky.social and @jrabethomas.bsky.social.
Joshua Eaton@joshuaeaton.bsky.social · 3w agoNEW: A 5-year-old girl spent months in federal immigration custody here in Connecticut while her family waited for her release. Her case isn’t unique, experts and court records show. My latest w/ @jrabethomas.bsky.social at @ctinsider.bsky.social — www.ctinsider.com/news/article... #nutmegsky
More than two dozen immigrant children sat in federal custody in Connecticut on an average day this spring. For these six, lawsuits finally got them out. One waited more than 500 days. My latest w/ @jrabethomas.bsky.social at @ctinsider.bsky.social — www.ctinsider.com/news/article... #nutmegsky
Six immigrant children spent as long as 505 days in federal custody as their families waited
During the months CT Insider spent reporting this story, more than two dozen immigrant children sat in federal custody in Connecticut.
ctinsider.com
NEW: A 5-year-old girl spent months in federal immigration custody here in Connecticut while her family waited for her release. Her case isn’t unique, experts and court records show. My latest w/ @jrabethomas.bsky.social at @ctinsider.bsky.social — www.ctinsider.com/news/article... #nutmegsky
5-year-old spent 118 days on her own in federal immigration custody in CT
On any given day there are more than two dozen immigrant children detained without a parent or guardian in programs run by Connecticut nonprofits.
ctinsider.com
5-year-old spent 118 days on her own in federal immigration custody in CT. Article below.: www.ctpost.com/news/article...
5-year-old spent 118 days on her own in federal immigration custody in CT
On any given day there are more than two dozen immigrant children detained without a parent or guardian in programs run by Connecticut nonprofits.
ctpost.com
State Sen. Paul Cicarella could have his Connecticut pension revoked this week www.ctpost.com/connecticut/...
State Sen. Paul Cicarella could have his Connecticut pension revoked this week
A panel will consider whether to strip state Sen. Paul Cicarella of a taxpayer-funded disability pension that is on track to pay him $71,100 this year.
ctpost.com
Following investigation, state panel to weigh revoking Sen. Cicarella's $71k annual pension Meeting will be in private executive session, but the Senator could request the meeting be open to the public. He has not returned calls.... www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...
State Sen. Paul Cicarella could have his Connecticut pension revoked this week
A panel will consider whether to strip state Sen. Paul Cicarella of a taxpayer-funded disability pension that is on track to pay him $71,100 this year.
ctinsider.com
In the meantime, some of the journalists who Hearst has fired for unsubstantiated and unclear reasons need our help to get by and support their families now that they are unemployed. Please consider helping them out here: gofund.me/77e05d0d1
Donate to Solidarity fund for CT journalists, organized by CT News Guild
We're the CT News Guild — 100+ unionized journalists at Hearst CT and the CT newspape… CT News Guild needs your support for Solidarity fund for CT journalists
gofund.me
Upset about this, too? SPEAK UP!
Connecticut News Guild@ctnewsguild.bsky.social · 2mo agoIf it seems to you like there are fewer journalists covering Connecticut, you’re right. This week, those ranks grew thinner: Hearst CT unjustly fired a highly experienced reporter who was respected by his peers, sources and readers.
Connecticut college chancellor sent sexually explicit messages before resigning, records show www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...
Connecticut college chancellor sent sexually explicit messages before resigning, records show
A complaint details two years of escalating misconduct by O. John Maduko, and earlier alarms raised with system leadership that drew no follow-up
ctinsider.com
Connecticut’s neediest schools lost out when lawmakers bypassed funding formula www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...
The hidden tradeoff in Connecticut’s $172M school aid boost
Not all the education funding allocated earlier this month adhered to the state's funding formula.
ctinsider.com
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas@jrabethomas.bsky.social · 3mo agoState secrets: Fight over budget records + a senator in a federal fraud probe test CT’s transparency law. Two branches of government assert significant portions of its work is beyond the reach of public record law. The third branch already has a broad exemption. www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...
Tell a friend: Hartford has the LOWEST median property tax bill in the state. CT property taxes by town: median tax bills, rates and map www.ctinsider.com/projects/rea...
State secrets: Fight over budget records + a senator in a federal fraud probe test CT’s transparency law. Two branches of government assert significant portions of its work is beyond the reach of public record law. The third branch already has a broad exemption. www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...
Connecticut officials argue they don’t have to release some public records
Gov. Ned Lamont and Senate Democrats claim their branches don't have to turn over records because a provision in the state constitution protects them.
ctinsider.com
More dangerously cold weather & more people experiencing homelessness means more people dying www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...
8 people experiencing homelessness died from the cold in Connecticut in just 6 weeks
Those who died this year include a 38-year-old woman who died in Bristol and a 69-year old man who died in Bolton.
ctinsider.com
Connecticut pauses enforcement of school racial balance law. An overhaul could follow www.ctinsider.com/news/educati...
Connecticut pauses enforcement of school racial balance law. An overhaul could follow
Fairfield, Greenwich and West Hartford have a multi-year reprieve from balancing their districts.
ctinsider.com
‘Trial tax’ driving longer sentences in CT While few cases make it to trial — just 170 cases in 2024 — a CT Insider investigation laid out the dynamics inside CT’s backlogged courts that lead to so few trials. The “trial tax” looms over nearly every case. www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...
Those who go to trial in Connecticut get longer sentences - sometimes years more
"By threatening extreme sentences, prosecutors coerce defendants into relinquishing their constitutional rights," said NACDL President Andrew Birell.
ctinsider.com
Finally, @jrabethomas.bsky.social broke down the numbers on all 197 people experiencing homelessness who died in Connecticut last year — with individual stories. www.ctinsider.com/news/article... #nutmegsky
197 died while homeless in CT last year — only three reached average life expectancy
Nine people experiencing homelessness died of hypothermia in 2025 and 15 died by suicide.
ctinsider.com
We also looked at the policies behind those numbers — why cities clear camps and why people living outside may not want to use shelters or temporary hotel rooms. Really well done, gutwrenching story by @jrabethomas.bsky.social (with the smallest assist from me) — www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...
'I’d rather freeze together’: Some unhoused couples refuse Connecticut shelters
Each night, about 830 people sleep outdoors in Connecticut, according to an annual count.
ctinsider.com
NEW: Nine people experiencing homelessness died from hypothermia in Connecticut last year. @jrabethomas.bsky.social and I spoke with friends and family for four of those people about who their loved ones were. Our latest at @ctinsider.bsky.social — www.ctinsider.com/news/article... #nutmegsky
Nine people froze to death in Connecticut last year. 'No one should die without a home'
The questions their stories raise is still the same: Who is responsible when preventable deaths become routine?
ctinsider.com
Senator at center of federal investigation lands a $750k earmark for his employer www.ctinsider.com/politics/art...
CT legislature to approve $750k for agency where senator at center of investigation works
The Senate on Wednesday is scheduled to codify several grants to nonprofits, including $750,000 for a Hartford school district where Sen. Doug McCrory works.
ctinsider.com
1 in 25 renters face eviction in CT, including a Bridgeport school board member. Article below.: www.ctpost.com/news/article...
1 in 25 renters face eviction in CT, including a Bridgeport school board member
In Connecticut, 1 out of every 25 tenants faced eviction in 2025, according to Princeton University’s Eviction Lab.
ctpost.com
A single eviction case reveals the human cost of CT's housing crisis: a sitting school board member became homeless after new owners purchased his home and moved almost immediately to evict him. Disabled and without legal representation, he faced court alone... www.ctpost.com/news/article...
1 in 25 renters face eviction in CT, including a Bridgeport school board member
In Connecticut, 1 out of every 25 tenants faced eviction in 2025, according to Princeton University’s Eviction Lab.
ctpost.com
License plate camera data from Connecticut towns searched to track woman who Texas officials say had an abortion. And Out-of-state police are using Connecticut license plate camera data for immigration enforcement. www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...
Out-of-state police are using Connecticut license plate camera data for immigration enforcement
A full record of which police departments are using the equipment is not kept by state officials.
ctinsider.com
A 7 YEAR WAIT for public records in the state's largest city.
Emilie Munson@emiliemunson.bsky.social · 7mo agoThank you to Bridgeport CT for finally providing me a copy of their vehicle pursuit policy that I FOIA requested nearly SEVEN YEARS ago. This should come in handy for that story I was working on two jobs ago...