WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice notified the state of Vermont and the city of Burlington that law enforcement agencies could lose federal funding over immigration policies.
Jeff Sessions, the U.S. attorney general, sent letters to 29 jurisdictions across the country Wednesday.
The Trump administration says it will crack down on so-called “sanctuary” policies — practices some municipalities and states have adopted that limit local enforcement of federal civil immigration laws.
The DOJ contends that state and Burlington immigration policies are in violation of the terms for federal law enforcement grants.
In a letter to Public Safety Commissioner Tom Anderson, the DOJ raised issues with a fair and impartial policing policy.
Three aspects of the Burlington Police Department fair and impartial policing policy were identified in the letter to Mayor Miro Weinberger: a restriction on sending notification of release of individuals to the federal government, a section limiting inquiries about immigration status, and a limitation of involvement of federal immigration officials in research.
“Jurisdictions that adopt so-called ‘sanctuary policies’ also adopt the view that the protection of criminal aliens is more important than the protection of law-abiding citizens and of the rule of law,” Sessions said in a statement.
Mayor Miro Weinberger said the city has reviewed the city’s policies and believes they are in compliance.
“Regardless of who populates the administration in Washington, the Federal government has no authority to deputize Burlington police officers to enforce Federal civil immigration laws,” Weinberger wrote in a statement. He said the letter the letter was “concerning but unsurprising.”
Gov. Phil Scott’s spokesperson Rebecca Kelley said the state is compliant with federal law.
“We are confident we are compliant with federal law and worked closely with the Legislature last year to ensure that,” she said. “The letter the U.S. attorney general’s office sent to the state actually cites old law that was revised in 2017, so it is not even a reflection of current state law.
“We will work with the Vermont attorney general, our congressional delegation and Department of Public Safety to ensure state funding is not unjustifiably impacted,” Kelley said.
The state and Burlington have until Dec. 8 to respond.
Sen. Patrick Leahy’s office said in the last fiscal year, Vermont received $507,892 in funding and Burlington received $39,945. Both jurisdictions are poised to receive more money under the program for fiscal 2017, but the DOJ has held up the grants so far, according to the senator.
Leahy said the DOJ immigration crack down is “shameful.”
“I strongly believe that police chiefs and local leaders should decide what state and local policies are necessary and best to keep their communities safe — not an attorney general who is attempting to extort immigration reform by cutting off vital public safety dollars to local communities and their residents,” Leahy said.
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., called the action “a slap in the face.”
“It is a blatant attempt by the Attorney General to strong-arm state and local governments in this country to fall in line with the Trump administration’s offensive anti-immigrant policies,” Welch said. “The courts should block this heavy-handed and punitive decision.”
Update: A statement from Scott spokesperson Rebecca Kelley was added at 10:38 a.m. Nov. 16.
