Editor’s note: This story was updated at 5:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 with more detailed information about how state fair and impartial policing rules could further protect undocumented workers.
[G]ov. Phil Scott defended on Wednesday the effectiveness of an immigration bill under consideration by the Legislature, while an attorney for a civil liberties group said stronger measures were needed to protect migrant workers in Vermont after crackdown orders by President Donald Trump.
Scott said the bill, S.79 — to be voted on Thursday by the Senate — would send a “comforting message” to unauthorized immigrant workers that state and local police will not cooperate with federal immigration raids. Scott said the legislation is aimed primarily at protecting farmworkers.
On Tuesday, Trump called on federal officials to enforce immigration laws more forcefully and ramp up efforts to deport those here illegally.
“All’s we can do is do what we can to protect ourselves,” Scott said during his weekly news conference. “We’re obviously not sure of the powers of the federal government and so forth, but I feel that this puts us on a pathway to giving some relief to Vermonters and to tone down the rhetoric and anxiety. I think that’s important as well.”
The governor said the state’s power is limited and federal authorities can do raids on their own.
“All’s we can do is try and give some sense of help, but it’s not enough. I mean, we can’t stop them from doing what some are fearing,” Scott told VTDigger.
Scott again called Trump’s executive orders on immigration policy an “overreach” of federal power. “What are our options?” he added. “And I believe this is an option we should take.”
The legislation would give Scott veto power over any agreements between the federal government and state and local law enforcement agencies when their help is requested on civil immigration enforcement. In addition, state and local government officials would be prohibited from collecting and sharing personal information that could be used to establish a Muslim registry.
However, Jay Diaz, an attorney with the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said there have been joint immigration enforcement actions taken by Vermont police in the past that did not include signed agreements.
“There are some positive measures” in the bill, Diaz said. “However, in order to protect the rights of the immigrant community in Vermont, we certainly need to do much more. We shouldn’t be under any illusion this bill will protect our immigrant community or that it’s enough.”
Diaz said the state should require all police departments in the state to adopt a “fair and impartial policing” policy. While the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council adopted a policy last year, many departments have not yet implemented the full set of recommendations.
The Vermont ACLU has been pressing for universal adoption of fair and impartial policing across the state to deter racial profiling by law enforcement. But there is a sense of urgency now because of Trump’s order to deport undocumented immigrants, which Diaz says will be “truly devastating to the immigrant community.”
The scale of the presidential deportation order is unprecedented, Diaz said. “Vermont is taking a stand now, but it certainly needs to do more to build a firewall between local law enforcement and federal law enforcement,” he said.
Fair and impartial policing policies would ensure that local law enforcement is not involved in detaining immigrants who are here without visas. “It’s one of the clearest ways that Vermont can thwart the Trump administration’s attacks on the immigrant community,” Diaz said.
Under “fair and impartial policing” rules, law enforcement do not make arrests based on racial profiling. Nor are police allowed to ask about a person’s immigration status. An immigrant’s constitutional rights are protected under the policy. Police must have probable cause for search and seizure, for example, and may not detain immigrants for civil violations under the Fourth Amendment.
The rules need to be adopted statewide as soon as possible, Diaz said, in order to protect the immigrant community from local police participation in round ups.
Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe has said the governor’s immigration bill has top priority and will be on a fast track for passage this week. Fair and impartial policing will be taken up separately.
How police should approach immigration status was one of the final sticking points in negotiations over the policy.
Some of Scott’s fellow Republicans oppose the bill and believe he is going too far in his efforts to push back against Trump. Scott has tried to convince them that all constitutional rights have to be defended. He said, for example, that he would resist efforts if the federal government requested information on gun ownership or sales.
House Minority Leader Don Turner, R-Milton, said many Republican House members will oppose the measure.
Given the power of the federal government, Scott acknowledged state help was limited but felt it did not provide a false sense of security. Illegal immigrants, he said, are already aware of what’s going on and making decisions whether to stay.
“I don’t know if it’s a false protection, but they’re aware right now, and they have choices to make. I don’t assume otherwise,” Scott said. “They can leave now, but we want to protect in particular our agriculture industry. Sometimes just sending that comforting message may help.”
Scott has also said he would “resist” the idea of using the Vermont National Guard for roundups of unauthorized immigrants, if so ordered by Trump.
The immigration bill is expected to pass the Senate and go to the House next week. Scott said he is encouraged by the “momentum” of the bill.
Assistant Attorney General Julio Thompson said Trump’s orders Tuesday made prompt passage of the bill more important. Scott rolled out the bill alongside Attorney General TJ Donovan.
“Vermonters are more likely to continue working with their local law enforcement and other government agencies if they can remain assured that Vermont is not collecting or sharing information on them beyond what is needed to serve the interests of Vermonters. S.79 will preserve that environment of mutual trust,” Thompson said by email.
After the news conference, the governor’s chief of staff, Jason Gibbs, sought to clarify comments he made on Facebook in which he questioned the accuracy of news stories about the bill. For example, he said some news reports claimed police could not arrest illegal immigrants for criminal activity.
“Few journalists take the time to understand the details of issues these days — they typically follow the most controversial narrative or the national narrative because it fires up readers/viewers,” he wrote in an exchange on Facebook, according to Seven Days.
During the news conference, Scott said he disagreed with Gibbs that some reporters were uninformed. Afterward, the chief of staff said he apologized if his comments were “inartful” but that Vermonters seemed unclear about the legislation.
“It’s not about the inaccuracies. It’s about the level of detail, about what level of depth individual stories are providing on issues,” Gibbs said.
As for his boss, Gibbs said: “I think he would have preferred that I keep my opinion to myself.”
