Senator Blumenthal: Week in Review 4/11/2025-4/18/2025
SENATOR BLUMENTHAL: WEEK IN REVIEW
Slamming the Trump Administration’s Assault on Education
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) joined New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker and advocates to announce he has written to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State (DOS) demanding answers as to why dozens of Connecticut international students had their visas suddenly revoked without rhyme or reason. More than 50 Connecticut international students were notified recently that their student visas were revoked without explanation. In a new letter, Blumenthal demands that DHS and DOS explain why these visas were revoked and end the arbitrary and unjust cancellations.
“It’s time to stand up for democracy, it’s time to stand up for higher education and freedom and liberty, which is so endangered. Connecticut is home to some of the finest universities in the world, and it is a place that draws some of the best and brightest students from all over the world. These international students bring their talents and expertise to enrich our system of education and eventually our communities. They do research, they teach, they enliven classes and the life of our university communities. They are part of the fabric of higher education that makes American education great,” said Blumenthal.
A video of the rally can be found here.
On Twitter/X, Blumenthal further highlighted the need to protect international students from the arbitrary revoking of student visas.
“Proud to be in New Haven & Storrs—centers of educational excellence—to stand in defense of international students & faculty who have seen their valid visas revoked with arbitrary, craven cruelty. Unexplained revocation of these visas must stop & I’ve written to the Trump admin demanding justification for their actions & the legal basis behind them. These revocations are having a horrific, chilling ripple effect on the students & staff who enrich & elevate our colleges & universities. We will not stand idly by as Trump attacks America’s higher education—threatening our core academic freedom & values,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
In this letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons, Blumenthal demanded an explanation for the Trump Administration’s seemingly arbitrary revocation of student visas across Connecticut. The letter follows reporting that dozens of students in Connecticut may have had their legal status terminated via email without warning or explanation. In the letter, Blumenthal demanded the Trump Administration provide information about what kind of notice and due process were provided to these students.
“Connecticut has some of the top public and private institutions of higher learning in the country. International students gain access to our institutions and in return our campuses benefit in a myriad of ways including in academics, athletics, and a better understanding of and appreciation for multiculturalism here in the United States— an understanding and appreciation that fosters tolerance and acceptance rather than hate and bigotry,” wrote Blumenthal. “These seemingly arbitrary revocations and terminations made without notice or explanation seem deliberately designed to have a chilling effect on student visa holders which will impact our nation’s ability to attract and retain international talent which will result in a net loss for our students and our communities.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Blumenthal joined teachers and education advocates to highlight how the Department of Education’s (ED) guidance on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) jeopardizes inclusive classrooms and will harm Connecticut students. ED has threatened to rescind federal funding from any school, district, or state that seeks to create inclusive classrooms, such as those that utilize SEL curriculum. SEL and culturally responsive teaching are both evidence-based educational practices that create supportive environments, help students build social and emotional skills, and promote student engagement and academic achievement in the classroom.
“Social emotional learning has a value—a real value—in making kids feel safe and supported, in advancing their ability to build relationships. Use your words, talk it out, establish relationships, build friendships, feel safer and supported. That’s the approach social emotional learning takes in schools, and it has proven to be effective in enabling students to feel included and avoid violence. Social emotional learning is somehow crossing the line on DEI—well, that kind of anti-woke ideology has no place in schools. Most important, the federal government has no business telling schools what they should be teaching. That’s up to local boards of education and local community,” said Blumenthal.
Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), along with U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01) and Summer Lee (D-PA-12), led colleagues in writing a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor calling for ED to immediately rescind their guidance jeopardizing inclusive classrooms.
“In February, OCR’s DCL threatened to rescind federal funding from any school, district, or state that seeks to create inclusive classrooms. Although ED published the March FAQ ostensibly to clarify this guidance, the FAQ document spreads misinformation by falsely suggesting, without evidence, that social and emotional learning (SEL) and culturally responsive teaching are discriminatory,” the lawmakers wrote. “Although we have numerous significant concerns with the substance and content of OCR’s recent guidance, we write specifically to express our opposition to the guidance provided in Question 8 of the FAQ, which falsely claims that “schools have sought to veil discriminatory policies with terms like ‘social-emotional learning’ or ‘culturally responsive’ teaching,” and suggests such curricula are discriminatory under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This erroneous guidance contradicts scientific evidence, prior OCR guidance, and long-standing state and local laws and practices.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Demanding Safer Working Conditions
Blumenthal joined the Teamsters Local 671 and i-Health warehouse workers to sound the alarm on unsafe working conditions and retaliation from i-Health in response to lawful union activity. Following the unionization of i-Health warehouse workers in Enfield, workers allege the company has engaged in retaliatory and coercive activity, like enforcing twelve-hour workdays and six-day workweeks, forced holiday shifts, pressure tactics, refusal to hire adequate workers, and disregard for safety concerns and injury reports.
A video of the press conference can be found here.
On Twitter/X, Blumenthal called for improved conditions for i-Health workers to benefit their health and safety.
“Proud to stand with workers of i-Health following allegations of unsafe working conditions & retaliatory firing of employees. i-Heath has refused to bargain fairly & I'm leading the CT delegation in demanding their parent company abide the law & care about workers,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
Blumenthal along with U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and U.S. Representatives Joe Courtney (CT-02) and Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), sent a letter to the CEO of DSM-Firmenich, parent company of i-Health, following reports of unsafe working conditions and retaliation against workers at the i-Health warehouse in Enfield. The lawmakers demanded that DSM-Firmenich and i-Health begin immediate corrective actions by reinstating all employees who were wrongfully terminated, ending all coercive and retaliatory practices targeting union members, bargaining in good faith with Teamsters Local 671 on a fair contract, and ensuring full compliance with U.S. labor laws and the company’s own Code of Business Ethics to ensure a safe, secure, and fair workplace environment.
“Instead of upholding the rights of these employees and honoring your public commitments to their wellbeing, workers allege that DSM-Firmenich has responded with actions that are retaliatory and coercive in nature,” wrote the lawmakers. “To be clear – firing or otherwise retaliating against workers engaging in lawful, protected strike activity is not just unethical but is also a potential violation of U.S. labor law. American workers have long had fundamental labor rights guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act in order to protect them from unjust situations as this one. Denying your workers a voice, subjecting them to exhausting and unreasonable schedules, and attempting to counteract their unionization efforts through coercion and retaliation is a gross violation of these rights.”
Fighting the Trump Administration’s Closure of New England’s Only FEMA Field Office
Blumenthal sounded the alarm at a press conference on the proposed closure of the Region 1 FEMA office in Boston which serves all of New England, including Connecticut. The Region 1 office is where many FEMA workers who respond to natural disasters in Connecticut, such as the devastating floods in Southbury and Oxford, are based. The closure of this office would have devastating consequences for the speed and efficiency of natural disaster relief.
"The President has hinted that he's closing FEMA," Blumenthal said. "This prospect of ending effective natural disaster relief is a nightmare. It is literally one of our worst nightmares considering that the 100-year storms have become the new normal. They're no longer hundred years storms. They're very 10 years and maybe every five years because of climate change."
On Twitter/X, Blumenthal further slammed the Trump Administration’s closure of the Region 1 FEMA office, highlighting the damage the closure will have on Connecticut towns.
“Once in a century storms now occur every few years. Trump’s shuttering of the FEMA Boston regional office would prevent CT & New England’s quick, effective response when a natural disaster strikes. For the sake of our communities, I'm demanding FEMA regional offices remain open,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.
Denouncing the Trump Administration’s Efforts to Politicize the Civil Service
Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), and Gary Peters, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, wrote to the heads of 15 government agencies demanding information about mass firings of civil servants driven by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”). In their letters, Blumenthal and Peters raised concerns that Musk’s politicization and destabilization of the civil service will harm services the American people rely on and ultimately cost taxpayers more money.
Blumenthal and Peters wrote, “Efforts to intimidate and traumatize federal civil servants through mass firings, forced leave, email threats, loyalty pledges, and more not only severely undermine the federal workforce morale, retention, and institutional knowledge, but jeopardize the critical, often life-saving services these workers deliver to the American people every day. While purportedly in the name of increased efficiency, the chaos sown by Mr. Musk’s reckless, arbitrary edicts to the federal workforce will ultimately cost the federal government far more than any imagined savings—generating tremendous amounts of needless waste.”
The Senators pointed out how Musk’s mass firings and efforts with “DOGE” could ultimately cost taxpayers more money, “Greatly diminished staffs of agencies providing critical public services will increasingly turn to profit-driven, private government contractors, driving up the cost to taxpayers while corporations pocket the difference. Meanwhile, at the same time that Mr. Musk slashes government workers in the name of efficiency, he is seeking to double the staff at DOGE and compensate his handpicked allies with six-figure salaries. DOGE’s budget has ballooned to nearly $40 million and is financed mostly by payments from other agencies for DOGE employees.”
The full text of the Senators’ letter to the Department of Agriculture is available here. Identical letters were sent to the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, State, the Interior, the Treasury, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs.
Blumenthal Bulletin
Blumenthal announced a resolution honoring the UConn women’s basketball team for winning the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship.
Blumenthal reintroduced legislation to guarantee legal representation for unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings.
Blumenthal slammed the Trump Administration for withholding Title X funding in 23 states including Connecticut, cutting off basic health care services for Americans.
Blumenthal denounced President Donald Trump’s decision to exempt phones and other electronics from his newly announced tariffs.
Blumenthal attended the parade celebrating the UConn women’s basketball team for their NCAA championship.
Blumenthal attended the Elm City Clubs 49th Annual Sojourner Truth Founder’s Day Awards.
Blumenthal spoke out against Social Security cuts.
Blumenthal called out Trump’s potential political tampering with IRS tax decisions.
Blumenthal slammed Trump for attempts to punish law firms representing clients and advocating for causes he abhors.
Blumenthal stood by Harvard for not complying with Trump’s list of demands, including an overhaul of hiring and reporting international students who violate rules.
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