[G]ov. Phil Scott told reporters Thursday that he was not surprised by the President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigrants from certain Muslim countries, but he is “disappointed about the tone and the direction this sets for us.”
He reiterated that stance on Sunday in a statement. To drive the message home, Scott will talk to business leaders in Rutland on Monday about the Syrian refugee crisis.
“As I’ve said many times, I came from Barre which has a rich ethnic history, and I think immigration is part of the path forward for us,” Scott said. “In Vermont, [immigration] would be extremely helpful for our economy, and this pushes us in the wrong direction.”
“I made a commitment to protect all Vermonters, and I believe we have a moral obligation to do so,” Scott said.
Scott has directed his general counsel and Tom Anderson, the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, to review the executive orders “to see what situation that puts us in.”
Burlington and other cities in Vermont are weighing whether to provide sanctuary to undocumented immigrants.
Trump’s executive order bars so-called sanctuary cities from receiving federal funds.
About a third of Vermont’s budget is federally funded. If the state were to become a sanctuary for immigrants and refused to comply with national enforcement actions requiring the deportation of undocumented immigrants, the Trump administration could block or reduce funding to Vermont. It’s unclear whether the order would apply only to funding relevant to federal immigration efforts or would be extended to other federally funded state programs.
Scott demurred when asked if Vermont could become a sanctuary state.
“To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure. We rely an incredible amount on federal funds about half of our budget is based on federal money,” Scott said. “We want to make sure we protect our resources. We have look at the ramifications of being a sanctuary state and what that really means.”
Over the weekend, there were two protests in Vermont, one in Rutland and in Burlington, in response to Trump’s immigration orders.
In Rutland, 25 Syrian refugee families were slated to be resettled. Only two families, who spent months in camps, were accepted into the United States before Trump issued his executive order.
People were detained at several airports on Saturday.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a temporary injunction to stop the detention and deportation of Muslims at several airports. A federal judge ruled that the detentions were unconstitutional.
The Vermont chapter of the ACLU urges members of the public to immediately report, by email, info@acluvt.org, any problems at the Vermont Ports of Entry.
