Dear Editor,
On Aug. 21, Vermont’s agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement comes to an end. This is a perfect opportunity for us to stop participating in the illegal rounding up of immigrants and the use of our prisons to warehouse detained people.
Not only would it end our complicity in ICE abductions, but it would also unburden our Department of Corrections staff and facilities.
According to the VTDigger story of June 28, prison staff are called on to provide medical information, clothing and prepared meals for detainees being transferred at all hours of the day and night, which is difficult and disruptive for both staff and the regular prison population as well. (For this burden, Vermont receives $180 a day per detainee.)
Gov. Phil Scott should seize this moment to deny the federal government access to our prisons and end our cooperation with ICE’s abductions of non-criminal immigrants.
Donna Fialkoff
Shelburne
