Editor’s note: This commentary is by Tyler Jager, of Manchester, who is a student at Yale University. He is the former policy director of Kesha Ram’s campaign for Vermont State Senate.
As a lifelong Vermonter, born and raised in Manchester, I am routinely grateful for the sanctuary of these Green Mountains. Leaving home for college meant parting with Vermont’s community, but I have never found a suitable replacement. Besides our natural beauty, we should be proud of our national reputation for spearheading creative, progressive ideas in government: First state to legalize same-sex civil unions, first attempt at universal health care, home of the most active third party in the United States.
One area where that leadership is sorely needed is the U.S. immigration system. While widely known, it’s always worth repeating: Since 2016, our federal government has deliberately implemented cruel policies to harm and repel newcomers to this country. The president’s administration has waged war on asylum, separated, detained and targeted noncitizen families and children, defunded USCIS and furloughed employees, and brought U.S. refugee admissions to their lowest point in history.
In this national conversation, we often forget that Vermont is a border state: Federal policies have a devastating impact on our communities, and the “sanctuary” that many enjoy here does not always reflect the struggles of those without citizenship. From the historically strong refugee and immigrant communities in Chittenden County and elsewhere, to the workers at Vermont’s dairy farms, to the international students who attend our universities, these punitive immigration policies hurt our neighbors, our economy and the very fabric of this state.
More immediate change is possible at the state level. When Gov. Phil Scott signed the 2021 budget (H.969) into law on Oct. 2, he also established the Vermont Coronavirus Economic Stimulus Program, which provides checks of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child for Vermont residents who were excluded from the federal stimulus due to their immigration status. Thanks to the devoted advocacy of Migrant Justice, a farmworker-led organization fighting for food justice and labor protections in the dairy industry (read their recent report here), the relief fund represents a sea change in state priorities. For once, Vermont is extending a material gesture of welcome to neighbors who more often experience harm and neglect at the hands of government.
This is a good step toward a more just and fair Vermont for New Americans, but next year’s elected officials will have to go many steps further. Abel Luna, a Migrant Justice organizer, told me in August how families visiting health clinics in northern Vermont counties are being reported to ICE for speaking Spanish, basic health care in the state remains inaccessible for many lacking the required documentation, and farmworkers risk crowded and demanding work conditions during a deathly pandemic. Immigration is also a racial justice issue for our state. Black and brown immigrants are targeted by the police, and asked to assimilate to a world dominated by white Vermonters.
For immigrant communities to overcome this adversity alone is an impossible burden. Vermonters with the privilege of citizenship, who can live without the fear that unmarked federal agencies could take away loved ones at any moment, should join in the task of advocacy and give activists the resources they need. Representatives in Montpelier can support providers like Open Door Clinic and make health care options available for noncitizens; expand access to ESL classes and to higher education; engage in meaningful welfare and tax reforms that help noncitizen and low-income households build wealth; and provide essential information in multiple languages.
The challenge Vermont faces — of fostering an inclusive community for both newcomers and longtime residents — is one shared by many other states across the country. This state is far from immune to the racism and nativism endemic to the United States, and we have an unfortunate tendency to undervalue Vermonters who do not have generations of family history here. Communities of color, immigrants, and students have driven recent arrivals to the state and represent a new generation of younger and more diverse residents. Vermont has an important national voice on immigration for that reason. If a small, white, and rural state can welcome immigrants, refugees, and any prospective American without second thought, then an attitude of welcome should be possible everywhere.
Luckily, we have organizations like the Association of Africans Living in Vermont. But presenting Vermont as an attractive place to live is not just a question for state leaders: it’s also about the values that we choose to champion. Whatever sanctuary we build here must include Abenaki people, migrant farmworkers, Vermonters who grew up speaking Somali and Tigrinya and Tagalog. These overarching values bring deeper meaning to our sense of community, offering criteria of belonging that are not based on ethnicity, background, or economic status. To build that Vermont, we need to continue the work of making an inclusive sanctuary for anyone and everyone who comes here in search of home.
