MONTPELIER — The Vermont House passed a resolution Thursday backing a recent statement by Gov. Phil Scott that called for a “pause” of federal immigration enforcement operations after the killing of a second protestor in Minneapolis.
The resolution was approved by a wide margin, 106-25. All of the representatives who voted against it are among the chamber’s 57-member Republican caucus. That’s notable because the measure was, in a way, a pat-on-the-back for the state’s Republican — and exceptionally popular — governor.
“This legislative body expresses its support for the principles behind the statement of Governor Philip B. Scott regarding the immigration enforcement actions that ICE and CBP, known as Operation Metro Surge, are currently conducting,” the resolution, which is symbolic and does not make any policy changes, states.
The resolution also says Vermont’s House “stands firm in its defense of the rights of all under the U.S. Constitution and in its commitment to standards that coordinate acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training, and leadership.”
A total of 3,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have been operating in Minneapolis, a force roughly five times the size of the city’s police department, according to CBS News. A top ICE official told the network earlier this week that federal agents had carried out about 3,400 arrests in and around the city, though did not say how many arrestees had criminal records.
The crackdown also resulted in federal agents shooting and killing two U.S. citizens: Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The killings have sparked large protests since, including in Vermont, where a number were planned for Friday and Saturday.
Trump’s crackdown appeared to be subsiding somewhat heading into the weekend, as Trump ordered Greg Bovino, the controversial commander of U.S. Border Patrol, out of the city — and stripped Bovino of his job. Border Patrol is the roving law enforcement arm of Customs and Border Protection. The latter is a major component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The president sent his border policy czar, Tom Homan, to lead the Minnesota operation instead.
At a press conference Wednesday, Gov. Scott called that personnel change “steps in the right direction,” though he also emphasized there needed to be an investigation into the shootings “that gets to the truth, and that all parties would be a part of.”
State and local law enforcement officials in Minnesota say they’ve been impeded from investigating the two killings, including having their access cut off to key evidence and basic facts.
More than 75 Vermont House members from the Democratic, Republican and Progressive parties originally signed onto Thursday’s measure as sponsors. In a statement after its passage, House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, said that “Vermonters and the collective outrage across the nation will not be silenced.”
“The indiscriminate abuse of power by the Trump administration seems to know no bounds,” the speaker said. “Where does it stop?”
The House Minority Leader, GOP Rep. Pattie McCoy of Poultney, did not sponsor the resolution but voted in favor of it. However, the House’s Deputy Minority Leader, GOP Rep. Mark Higley of Lowell, voted against it. Rep. Zak Harvey, R-Castleton, who is vice chair of the Vermont chapter of the Republican Party, also cast a “no” vote.
Several Republican House members offered explanations for their votes on the floor. Two who voted against the measure characterized it as unnecessarily divisive.
“I do support the governor’s prerogative to issue his statement, and I have no doubt I am very deeply concerned about events in Minneapolis,” said Rep. Tom Charlton, R-Chester. “The resolution as written, however, missed an opportunity to call on all parties to de-escalate confrontational action and inflammatory rhetoric.”
Meanwhile, Northfield Republican Rep. Ken Goslant called the fatal shootings in Minnesota “a tragedy” but said he felt the resolution “pits neighbors against neighbors even more.” He said the topic was not appropriate for the Legislature to take up and should be left to Vermont’s Congressional delegation.
Two GOP representatives referenced last year’s fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, David Maland, on Interstate 91 in Coventry. One of them, Rep. Woody Page of Newport City, said the shooting — which took place close to his own border town district — made him hesitant to criticize federal immigration enforcement operations.
“Let me be very clear. I abhor the tactics of and deaths of Americans by our U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency,” he said.
However, Page added, “My feelings are that to sign onto this resolution would bring disrespect and dishonor to the agents that serve within my community, and especially, to the memory of agent David ‘Chris’ Maland. And that is why I am voting no on this resolution.”
As of Friday, a similar resolution to the one that passed the House was being drafted in the Senate. According to Ashley Moore, chief of staff to Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central, senators had until Friday afternoon to sign onto the measure as sponsors. She wasn’t sure when it would be up for consideration on the floor.
