{"id":4129,"date":"2025-12-11T02:00:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T02:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/?p=4129"},"modified":"2025-12-12T16:42:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:42:00","slug":"protecting-vermonters-from-trumps-deportation-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/news\/protecting-vermonters-from-trumps-deportation-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting Vermonters from Trump\u2019s deportation agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

State leaders must act now to defend our rights. We have identified several ways Vermont can\u2014and should\u2014use its power to limit state interactions with federal immigration authorities, improve access to justice, and keep our communities safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","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":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":{"header_layout":"standard","header_image":4149,"mobile_header_image":null,"description":"State leaders must act now to defend our rights. We have identified several ways Vermont can\u2014and should\u2014use its power to limit state interactions with federal immigration authorities, improve access to justice, and keep our communities safe.","authors":null,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"We all have rights that the government must respect, regardless of our immigration status. However, the Trump administration is actively terrorizing our communities through a dangerous mass deportation campaign. The federal government is attempting to intimidate us by defying democratic norms, denying our most basic constitutional rights, and deploying masked and unaccountable immigration enforcement agents into our neighborhoods.\r\n\r\nDespite the Trump Administration\u2019s claim of targeting only \u201cdangerous criminals\u201d for deportation, the facts do not lie. As of November, about 73% of the over 65,000 people detained by ICE had no criminal convictions<\/a>. Many of those with a criminal record had committed only minor offenses, such as traffic violations.\r\n\r\nEnough is enough.<\/b> People are terrified and outraged and are calling on their elected officials to act to protect them from these federal abuses of power."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"buttons","buttons":{"primary":{"text":"Take Action Today","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":"Although the federal<\/i> government has the authority to determine who can have or pursue immigration status, states <\/i>have the power to decide how much immigration status should impact a person's ability to meet their basic human, safety, and economic needs. We have identified several policy areas where Vermont can\u2014and should\u2014use that power to limit state interactions with federal immigration authorities, improve access to justice, and keep our communities safe."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"Our Immigrants' Rights Agenda","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"Safeguarding Community Spaces","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h3","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"Everyone deserves to fully participate in daily community life. Previously, federal guidance limited immigration enforcement in places of worship, schools, and hospitals. But in January, the Trump Administration rescinded this guidance<\/a> in an attempt to allow federal agents to invade these community spaces and conduct unlawful and indiscriminate raids. As they continue to stalk and arrest members from our communities, people are increasingly afraid to leave their homes and are being prevented from utilizing these essential community services. Without unincumbered access to these spaces, people\u2019s livelihoods or even their very lives are at risk.\r\n\r\nTo help protect our community, we are advocating for legislation that would prevent immigration officials from entering non-publics spaces at \u201csensitive locations\u201d (like schools, hospitals, and places of worship) without a judicial warrant. It would also extend our state\u2019s existing ban on civil arrests at court houses<\/a> to other governmental buildings. We need to reclaim a sense of safety in our community spaces and prevent federal immigration authorities from using state buildings and resources to enable their anti-immigrant agenda."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"Access to Counsel for ICE Detainees & Improve Detention Conditions","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h3","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"Due process is a basic safeguard that is guaranteed to everyone by the United States Constitution. Yet, the Trump Administration is actively stripping any semblance of justice from the immigration system by creating unnecessary hurdles for noncitizens in removal proceedings. Although immigration detention has serious consequences for a people\u2019s immediate and long-term safety, civil detainees do not have access to state-funded attorneys (unlike those detained for violations of criminal law). Someone charged with an immigration violation may be navigating a potentially life and death decision in an obscure court process, in a language they do not understand, without a lawyer. Unsurprisingly, statistics<\/a> show that detained noncitizens pursuing their immigration cases \u201cpro se\u201d (or, without an attorney) are exponentially more likely to receive orders of removal.\r\n\r\nFurthermore, there are large gaps in services within our correctional facilities that make it difficult for people to access care and the information needed for their legal proceedings. Part of Vermont\u2019s justification for renewing DOC\u2019s contract<\/a> with the U.S Marshal Service was that Vermont detention conditions are better than in places like Louisiana and Texas. But advocates who access the facilities know that noncitizens face many hurdles in Vermont prisons, too. For example, the lack of language access services means that many people who do not speak English are unable to contact their families or their attorneys or request basic medical care.\r\n\r\nVermont is falling woefully short of its moral and legal obligations to the people in its custody, and we are calling on the legislature to change that. Specifically, we urge lawmakers to:\r\n