BURLINGTON – Around two dozen activists renewed their calls for action against immigration detentions and conditions, two weeks after a protest drew hundreds of Vermonters and resulted in 19 arrests.
The arrested activists were issued citations for disorderly conduct after blocking a road outside a building where Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates a tipline. They were scheduled to appear in Chittenden Superior Court on Tuesday, but announced during a news conference on the courthouse steps that the date had been canceled.
Around 750 people marched to the Department of Homeland Security’s Law Enforcement Support Center in Williston on July 28. The event concluded with a rally and road blockade at 188 Harvest Lane, which serves as an around-the-clock nationwide hub that shares information with police about suspects’ immigration status and criminal background.
Protesters at the July event chanted and waved signs calling for the ICE building to shut down, the reunification of migrant families, an end to immigration raids and deportations and the closure of detention facilities.
Community Voices for Immigration, an activist coalition, organized the civil disobedience following the event and gathered outside the Edward J. Costello Courthouse in Burlington on Tuesday, where they announced those cited would not be appearing in court as expected.
Emma Schoenberg, the group’s action coordinator, said the group received an email yesterday afternoon that the court date had been canceled.
“We are grateful that this court date has been postponed and we’d like to stay in that relationship for as long as possible,” Schoenberg said.
Alec Fleischer, a Middlebury College student, said those arrested are expecting to go through a court diversion program.
Fleischer told reporters on Tuesday outside the Edward J. Costello Courthouse that the country is seeing “a new breed of fascism – one of hate, one of othering.”
Fleischer said seven people were detained by immigration authorities at a McDonald’s in Hartford this week, following the detention of nine in the town earlier this month.
ICE spokesperson John Mohan said by email Tuesday he was unable to confirm or deny ICE arrests in Vermont.
“ICE enforcement actions can and do occur on a regular basis in various locations,” he said. “… ICE does not publicly comment on routine enforcement actions that occur on a regular basis as part of our enforcement of US immigration law. “
“They were being activists and organizing for a more just Vermont,” Fleischer said. “These are people we need to stand in solidarity with and thank, not arrest and deport.”
The Upper Valley town failed in efforts to adopt a policy that would have helped shield undocumented immigrants from federal detention. A proposed amendment to its Fair and Impartial Policing Policy would have prevented local law enforcement from sharing citizenship status information with federal authorities, except in cases of an ongoing felony investigation. The Hartford Selectboard ultimately did not bring the issue to the vote after a series of heated debates, which often involved audience members shouting at town officials.
A rally against the Hartford detentions is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon in White River Junction.
Those follow the detainment of three migrant dairy farm workers at a Walmart in Newport in June. One of the men has been released, while the other two are expected to be deported to Mexico.
The series of detentions were referenced by activists at the news conference.
Scarlett Moore, a UVM student who was arrested on July 28, said the cancelation of the court appearance means the coalition can continue its work and push to address the immigration issues.
“I think that there’s always a little bit of uncomfortability with the charges being dropped, because I certainly recognize that there’s a great deal of privilege and the geography of us being arrested in Vermont plays into that,” Moore said.
Joanna Colwell, of East Middlebury, was also arrested, and said Vermonters cannot tolerate the actions of ICE in the state.
“ICE are terrorists, they are kidnapping people, they are detaining people, they are holding people in inhumane conditions,” Colwell said. “We cannot be part of this.”
Julie Conason, of Salisbury, also received a citation at the Williston protest. She said the group is speaking out for people who are unable to do so themselves and that Vermonters need to take these issues seriously.
“As people of conscience, this is what we need to do, this is where we need to be,” she said. “I exhort everyone to come out and stand up for their neighbors.”
