[A] compromise is in the works to settle a long-running dispute over the state’s Fair and Impartial Policing policy.
Advocates have contended the current policy does not go far enough to protect undocumented immigrants in Vermont. Backers of the existing policy have said that they did the best they could while remaining in compliance with federal law.
The Fair and Impartial Policing policy was adopted in December 2017 by the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council, over objections from advocacy groups for undocumented immigrants, including Migrant Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont.
Law enforcement agencies around the state have since been required to adopt the state’s model policy, but ostensibly barred from going further.
Now, under a proposal presented Wednesday afternoon to the Vermont House Judiciary Committee, that model policy would be the “floor,” rather than the ceiling, for what law enforcement agencies around the state must adopt.
Law enforcement agencies, under the proposal, would be permitted to adopt more restrictive policies when it comes to sharing information with federal authorities about undocumented immigrants in Vermont.
However, agencies could not adopt a policy that allows for greater communication than the model policies calls for with federal law authorities about undocumented immigrants, according to the proposal.
“This sets a new standard that was not in the law before that does allow local agencies, if they choose, to go above what the model requires, or what the model allows in terms of protections for immigrant communities,” Assistant Attorney General David Scherr told the committee.
The proposal has the backing of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office as well as Migrant Justice and the ACLU of Vermont.
“We do support this language and ask the committee move it forward,” Lia Ernst, a lawyer with the ACLU of Vermont, told the House panel.
“There are always going to be differences of opinion between people on all sides of this issue, and of course we are going to continue advocating for stronger protections in the model policy,” Ernst said.
In meantime, Ernst said, she will continue to call on individual police agencies to adopt policies that have “more robust protections” for undocumented immigrants than in the current model policy.
Will Lambek, an organizer with Migrant Justice, echoed Ernst’s comments. “We believe this is an improvement and a step in the right direction,” he said.
The proposed legislation also sets a March 1 deadline for when the policies must be adopted. If an agency does not adopt its own policy by that deadline, the state’s model policy will become that agency’s default policy.
Richard Gauthier, executive director of the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council, testified by phone in support of the proposal. He said the council had also met Wednesday and backed the proposed legislation.
The committee took no action on the proposal Wednesday, awaiting testimony from the Vermont Human Rights Commission.
The advocacy groups had specific language changes that wanted in the model policy before it was adopted in December 2017. Those changes focused on providing greater restrictions about when information about a person’s immigration status could be shared with federal authorities.
For example, the advocacy groups had proposed the following language: “Agency members shall not share information about crime victims/witnesses with federal immigration authorities, unless it is with the individual’s consent.”
The council said that language would put the policy in violation of federal law. The council’s version stated that law enforcement agencies “should communicate that they are there to provide assistance and to ensure safety, and not to deport victims/witnesses.”
Also, the council’s policy states that when considering whether to contact federal authorities, police agencies in the state “should remain mindful that their enforcement duties do not include civil immigration enforcement.”
Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington, a committee member, asked Scherr on Wednesday what affect, if any, the proposed compromise legislation would have on the state’s ability to receive certain federal grant funds.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice said it would release more than $2 million in law enforcement grants that have been on hold for 15 months as the federal authorities looked into whether the state was compliant with immigrant enforcement policies.
The DOJ ultimately determined that the Vermont State Police complies with federal requirements.
Scherr said it wouldn’t be a problem for the state, as long as it adopted a policy that met the federal standards.
As for other law enforcement agencies that adopted a “more restrictive” policy than the model policy, he said, it would be up to each one to determine if they met the federal standards, and deal with the consequences it they didn’t.
“It would not be our job under this to pass judgment on whether or not they have violated the federal law,” he said. “All we would say is, ‘Yes, you adopted each component, and it appears you placed additional restrictions on it, but that is not against state law.’”
Scherr added, “If a municipality does something that may place grant money at risk, that will be their decision to make.”
