Republicans under the Golden Dome are divided over the “immigration bill” being fast-tracked by Gov. Phil Scott.
The split is most evident when contrasting the support the measure has received in the Legislature’s two chambers — the Senate passed the bill unanimously with all seven Republicans on board. In the House, the leader of the Republicans predicted close to half of the 53 Republicans will vote no when it comes up, possibly as early as next week.
The major objection, according to House Minority Leader Don Turner, is he and other Republicans believe the effort interferes with law enforcement being able to do their job effectively. He called the proposal, rolled out by the governor and attorney general with tripartisan legislative support “a solution in search of a problem.”
In this edition of Digger Dialogue, Senate Republican leader Dustin Degree, R-Franklin, and Sen. Peg Flory, R-Rutland, discuss why they supported the measure, S. 79. Turner talks about why he and some of his fellow Republican House colleagues object.
The two primary components of the bill would prohibit government officials from helping to create a registry, including one based on religion, and it would require the governor’s approval for state and local law enforcement officials to participate in certain federal immigration enforcement actions.
“What I think it does pretty clearly is that it states what our responsibilities as a state are and what the responsibilities of the federal government are and kind of draws the line between what we’re comfortable with right now. If things come down the road, we want the governor to have the ability to say this is on par with the values in the policing strategies that we use,” Degree said.
He called the bill a “proactive” measure. While some, including the Vermont chapter of the ACLU have questioned how strong the legislation is, Degree said it carried more weight than just symbolism.
“It sets us up to be prepared if something comes down the line,” said Degree, whose district is on the Canadian border.
“I also think it protects some of the very basic rights that we hold dear in Vermont while really insuring those law enforcement officers who draw their power from the state will continue to be able to do so,” Degree said.
Flory’s district has seen controversy over the locating of refugee families, including Syrians, in the Rutland area.
“For me, it’s protecting state’s rights while also preserving federal rights,” Flory said. She repeated an example Scott, a Republican, gave in condemning registries of any kind and the need to protect all constitutional rights when he said he would fight any effort by the feds to set up a gun registry as well.
Degree said “tensions are high” on the bill. He said Republican senators “took the time” to learn what the bill meant. He maintained some lawmakers, including some Republican House members, didn’t understand the bill, which came on the heels of President Trump issuing executive orders calling for more aggressive efforts to deport illegal immigrants.
Turner said the bill supported by Scott — who will be going to the White House this weekend as part of the National Governor’s Association meeting — seems to be “tying the hands of law enforcement even more.”
The Milton Republican said he worried about “jeopardizing the relationship” between federal and Vermont law enforcement officials that he said has been beneficial to the state.
He also said he and law enforcement members were tired of officials always telling police what laws to enforce or not, pointing to marijuana laws as well as immigration laws.
Turner said he also questioned whether the registry ban would affect the federal census done every decade as well as information collected by schools.
“The people that I’m hearing from are really upset with the governor taking this stance and working to pass something like this,” Turner said. “Those are the people that are calling me. I’m not getting calls from people that think it’s okay but the people who are upset are calling me.”
