Gov. Phil Scott has denied a request from the Trump administration for a dozen members of the Vermont National Guard to assist U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The request from the federal government was made to several states, including Vermont, for National Guard personnel to provide support to ICE, according to the Vermont National Guard and a press release issued last week by the defense department.
The Vermont National Guard forwarded the request to Scott, who turned it down, according to Joseph Brooks, a Vermont National Guard public affairs officer.
Vermont Public reported on the matter Wednesday.
Scott, speaking with reporters Thursday, confirmed he had rejected the request and provided additional details behind his decision.
In this case, the Republican governor said, the request from the administration of Republican President Donald Trump came under a provision of the law that allowed him to approve or reject it.
“There were 12 clerical positions that were being requested for the emergency, the executive order that he had for the southern border,” Scott said.
The governor said he didn’t support having 12 Vermont National Guard members assigned for a year to do clerical work, particularly when those positions could be filled in other ways.
“I think about the thousands of federal workers furloughed, some fired, some just left on their own, but there’s literally tens of thousands of federal employees that would be available for this type of work,” Scott said.
Had the request dealt with guard members needed for dealing with counterterrorism, “maybe cyber work,” or drug interdiction, the governor said, his response may have been different.
“This one didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, especially because it appears they’re referencing an executive order for the southern border and its clerical positions,” Scott said.
The clerical positions, the governor said, would have been located at federal offices in St. Albans, which is home to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office.
Scott said he rejected the request Wednesday. “I haven’t heard anything back,” he said Thursday.
Brooks said Thursday that because the request was made under a provision known as Title 32, it was up to the governor to decide how to respond.
“The governor has the say whether or not we do that mission,” Brooks said.
Since Trump assumed office in January, there have been several protests and demonstrations in Vermont in response to ICE’s ramped-up immigration enforcement actions, marking a shift from Biden administration policies.
