{"id":1081,"date":"2025-02-25T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T15:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/news\/campaign\/building-firewall-freedom\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T22:45:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T22:45:25","slug":"building-firewall-freedom","status":"publish","type":"campaign","link":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/campaigns-initiatives\/building-firewall-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Firewall for Freedom"},"author":15,"featured_media":3886,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"class_list":["post-1081","campaign","type-campaign","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"page_type":"campaign","hide_on_campaigns_landing_page":false,"hero_image":3886,"mobile_hero_image":3892,"hero_video":null,"hide_mute_button":[],"description_header":"Building a Firewall for Freedom","description_text":"Across the nation, the federal government is attempting to dismantle longstanding protections for free speech, privacy, equality, and democracy. But freedom isn\u2019t confined to the courts, or Washington. It begins right here in our local communities. Our state can be part of the first line of defense against federal abuse of power\u2014<strong>but lawmakers need to hear from you<\/strong>.","cta_type":"email_signup","email_cta_header":"","email_cta_text":"","custom_cta_header":"","custom_cta_text":"","cta_button_text":"Take Action","cta_button_link":"https:\/\/action.aclu.org\/send-message\/vt-firewall-2026?initms_aff=vt&initms_chan=eml&utm_medium=eml&initms=adv-na-sail-gradead-vt-251107_messageaction-civilliberties-na-affcampaign&utm_source=sail&utm_campaign=affcampaign&utm_content=adv-na-sail-gradead-vt-251107_messageaction-civilliberties-na-affcampaign&af=7ZbvFBNm4QYa%2B%2FZXxFyj44HL3E%2FtxavT3Xkfdvp05mhdPG5101%2BGc9XQkuOG2J6dEKqV5Zf3zhA30U59RKspC%2F98O1sd4UpVZngvPFi7IpY%3D&ms_aff=vt&ms_chan=eml&ms=adv-na-sail-gradead-vt-251107_messageaction-civilliberties-na-affcampaign","secondary_cta_text":"","secondary_cta_link":"","components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"buttons","buttons":{"primary":{"text":"Take Action","link":"https:\/\/action.aclu.org\/send-message\/vt-firewall-2026?initms_aff=vt&initms_chan=eml&utm_medium=eml&initms=adv-na-sail-gradead-vt-251107_messageaction-civilliberties-na-affcampaign&utm_source=sail&utm_campaign=affcampaign&utm_content=adv-na-sail-gradead-vt-251107_messageaction-civilliberties-na-affcampaign&af=7ZbvFBNm4QYa%2B%2FZXxFyj44HL3E%2FtxavT3Xkfdvp05mhdPG5101%2BGc9XQkuOG2J6dEKqV5Zf3zhA30U59RKspC%2F98O1sd4UpVZngvPFi7IpY%3D&ms_aff=vt&ms_chan=eml&ms=adv-na-sail-gradead-vt-251107_messageaction-civilliberties-na-affcampaign"},"secondary":{"text":"","link":""}}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"Our Firewall for Freedom campaign aims to protect all of us from unlawful federal interference and abuse of power. <b>When our state refuses to be complicit in unconstitutional acts, when our leaders create legal protections for our communities, and when neighbors look out for each other\u2014that\u2019s <\/b><b>how democracy endures. <\/b>\r\n\r\nLooking to the 2026 legislative session, at a time when our democracy is under sustained attack, our legal and policy experts have identified the following protections to champion in the State House.\r\n\r\n<strong>Take action today by sending a message to state leaders<\/strong> urging them to pass our Firewall for Freedom."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"shared-expandable-card","shared-expandable-card":{"":null,"title":"Immigrants\u2019 Rights: No Secret Police","description":"We all have rights that the government must respect, regardless of our immigration status.","content":"Under the Trump administration\u2019s cruel mass deportation campaign, the federal government is trying to intimidate our communities by defying democratic norms, denying our constitutional rights, and deploying masked and unaccountable agents into our neighborhoods.\r\n\r\n<strong>In response, there are several policy provisions that Vermont policymakers should prioritize.<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Safeguard Immigrants\u2019 Access to Essential Services:<\/strong> Prevent federal agents from making warrantless immigration arrests in private spaces in schools and healthcare facilities and expand Vermont\u2019s ban on civil arrests at court houses to include other government buildings.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Provide Access to Counsel for ICE Detainees:<\/strong> Provide access to free legal representation to people held in state facilities for alleged civil immigration violations.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Require Proper Identification of Law Enforcement Officers:<\/strong> Ensure law enforcement officers can be held accountable if they violate a person\u2019s civil rights by preventing them from concealing their identities.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Improve Detention Conditions:<\/strong> Improve access to language and medical services, allow access to free communications, and restrict exploitive prices at commissary within Vermont\u2019s prisons.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Smarter Stops:<\/strong> Address over-policing and racial disparities in traffic stops by prohibiting stops for minor equipment violations and consent-based searches without probable cause.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","link":"","link_button_text":"","image":3951,"width":"two-thirds"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"shared-expandable-card","shared-expandable-card":{"":null,"title":"Smart Justice: Resist Criminalizing Homelessness and Advance Public Health Services","description":"The Trump regime is pressuring states to adopt cruel and ineffective polices that sweep unhoused people off the streets and put them behind bars instead of giving them the support they need.","content":"Unfortunately, Governor Scott and some state lawmakers are proposing that we pull from President Trump\u2019s playbook. Instead of another round of failed tough-on-crime approaches, state policymakers should learn from the past and invest in solutions that address the root causes of the complex challenges facing our communities.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Right to Rest:<\/strong> Close the legal loophole created by <i>Grants Pass v. Johnson<\/i> and affirm that the government cannot punish people experiencing homelessness for engaging in life-sustaining behavior on public property when they have nowhere else to go. The state forcibly unsheltered thousands of our neighbors\u2014it\u2019s cruel to ticket or jail people kept out of our state\u2019s underfunded support systems who are simply trying to live their lives.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Fund Emergency Shelter:<\/strong> Due to the Scott administration\u2019s push to decimate the General Assistance Emergency Housing system, the needs of our communities far outstrip the program\u2019s capacity\u2014at the same time, the program is not being used to its full capacity because of needless administrative barriers. At the very least, we must continue to fund this essential program and remove these unnecessary barriers so more people can access the support they need.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Invest in Harm Reduction Strategies:<\/strong> We still need to transform our approach to substance use disorder so that our laws recognize this is a public health crisis\u2014not a criminal one. Lawmakers must expand the state\u2019s harm reduction infrastructure, including easily accessible treatment options, drug-checking services, sterile safe injection devices and disposal boxes, transportation to treatment services, mobile treatment services, and easy access to naloxone. These are far more effective and less costly options than incarceration.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","link":"","link_button_text":"","image":3963,"width":"two-thirds"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"shared-expandable-card","shared-expandable-card":{"":null,"title":"Trans Rights: Preserve Access to Care","description":"With the passage of the state\u2019s \u201cshield laws\u201d in 2023, Vermont lawmakers established that gender-affirming health care is an essential health care service. But there is more we must do to protect access here in Vermont, no matter what happens in Washington.","content":"Changes to federal Medicare and Medicaid rules are expected to come out in the coming months, and we are working with medical providers, lawmakers, and direct service providers to ensure trans people retain access to this life-saving medical care no matter what happens in Washington.\r\n\r\nFor now, our priority remains ensuring that patients and providers have the resources they need to continue to access gender-affirming care in the face of changing federal regulations.\r\n\r\nTo learn more, read our blog: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/news\/preserving-access-to-gender-affirming-health-care\/\">Preserving access to gender-affirming health care<\/a>.","link":"","link_button_text":"","image":3954,"width":"two-thirds"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"shared-expandable-card","shared-expandable-card":{"":null,"title":"Privacy Rights: Protect Our Data","description":"Our private data is just that: private.","content":"Vermont needs to build stronger protections for our personal data, especially for those being targeted by the Trump administration: immigrants, queer and trans people, and people seeking reproductive health care services.\r\n\r\nTo that end, we will be calling on lawmakers to minimize the information that private entities and the government can collect, as well as what data can be sold or shared, to better protect Vermonters\u2019 privacy and constitutional rights.","link":"","link_button_text":"","image":3969,"width":"two-thirds"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"shared-expandable-card","shared-expandable-card":{"":null,"title":"Economic Justice: Fund Vermont's Future","description":"Vermont has underfunded its social safety net for many years, and these shortfalls will only be made worse as ongoing federal funding cuts continue to take effect.","content":"The current economic system works for those at the very top, but too many people in our communities are struggling. When those who can most afford it pay their fair share, we can build a Vermont that works for everyone.\r\n\r\nWe will continue urging lawmakers to increase taxes on the wealthiest Vermont residents to raise state revenue and ensure support for essential state government services in the face of unprecedented cuts to federal funds.","link":"","link_button_text":"","image":3947,"width":"two-thirds"}}],"featured_cases_section":{"enable_featured_cases":false,"title":"Featured Cases","description":"","featured_cases":null},"issues":null,"related_content":[1429,1642],"documents":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Building a Firewall for Freedom - ACLU of Vermont<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/campaigns-initiatives\/building-firewall-freedom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Building a Firewall for Freedom - 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