State officials maintain Vermont is not a sanctuary state but received a letter Monday from the U.S. attorney general’s office alleging it has immigration enforcement policies in place the federal government sees as unlawful.
“For too long, so-called sanctuary jurisdiction policies have undermined this necessary cooperation and obstructed federal immigration enforcement, giving aliens cover to perpetrate crimes in our communities and evade the immigration consequences that federal law requires,” reads the letter dated Aug. 13, shared with VTDigger.
Studies show immigrants in the United States commit crimes at lower rates than the U.S.-born population. Meanwhile, immigration authorities this year have been detaining and deporting record numbers of immigrants who have little or no criminal record, according to the Marshall Project.
Gov. Phil Scott is reviewing the letter from Attorney General Pamela Bondi and is preparing a response to push back on that assertion, according to Dustin Degree, a spokesperson for the governor.
“You are hereby notified that your jurisdiction has been identified as one that engages in sanctuary policies and practices that thwart federal immigration and enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States. This ends now,” Bondi’s letter states.
Degree rejected Bondi’s assertion Monday.
“Importantly, Vermont is not a sanctuary state. Vermont does not have any law or policy that impedes the enforcement of federal immigration law,” Degree wrote to VTDigger in an email.
“In fact, the opposite is true: Vermont State law is very clear that the State does not prohibit or impede any public agency from complying with the lawful requirements of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1373 and 1644,” he stated.
Those laws state local law or governmental entities may not prohibit or restrict the sending or receiving of information from federal authorities regarding a person’s immigration status.
Any policy or practice that existed in Vermont that conflicts with federal immigration requirements has been abolished, according to Degree.
“Governor Scott will convey these important details in a response to the AG, which we expect will be sent tomorrow,” Degree wrote.
The letter, which was sent to multiple communities, threatens criminal charges, civil action and potentially withholding federal funds if entities don’t comply.
The letter comes on the heels of the Justice Department announcing its latest list of 35 sanctuary jurisdictions, which includes Vermont, as part of the federal government’s continued effort to target communities that it believes are interfering with immigration enforcement.
An earlier list in May named more than 500 jurisdictions across red and blue states in response to President Donald Trump’s April 28 executive order directing federal authorities to identify so-called sanctuary jurisdictions nationwide that are “deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws and endangering American citizens.”
The whittled down list naming about three dozen sanctuary jurisdictions, largely Democratic, makes no reference to the older list which has been quietly removed from the Department of Homeland Security’s website.
