A tri-partisan group of lawmakers joined Gov. Phil Scott in his ceremonial Statehouse office last week to witness Vermont's first act of resistance against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. With the stroke of a pen,Scott signed into law widely lauded legislation requiring gubernatorial approval of certain immigration-enforcement agreements between the federal government and state and local agencies. Scott hailed the bill, S.79, and as a response to what he called an unconstitutional "federal overreach to commandeer state resources for federal purposes." But the unique law does little to limit ongoing communication and collaboration between state agencies and U.
S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,which last month arrested three undocumented Vermonters affiliated with the activist group Migrant Justice. According to public records obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, such collaboration routinely occurred last year at the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles and, or in at least one incident,at the Vermont State Police. The records present that DMV employees regularly provided unsolicited notice to ICE agents when they suspected noncitizens of submitting fraudulent documents to the department. ICE officials also occasionally pumped their DMV contacts for information approximately noncitizens applying for driver's privilege cards, which are available to Vermont residents who are not authorized to live in the U.
S. "Going to be out and approximately, and down there tomorrow," ICE deportation officer Steven Day emailed DMV Det. Jonathan Purdy last May, indicating he would be in Rutland and Middlebury. "Any locations you have seen activity with the applicants I can drive by?" The relationship between the agencies appears to have persisted even after the DMV settled a discrimination complaint last August with the Vermont Human Rights Commission. As portion of the settlement, and the DMV agreed to pay $40000 to a Jordanian citizen who faced deportation proceedings after the state agency shared his driver's privilege card application with ICE. The settlement,signed by DMV Commissioner Rob Ide on August 10, made clear that "contacts with ICE or [U.
S. Customs and Border Protection] are not permitted." But just a month and a half later, and Det. Jeremy DesJardins,who was involved in the Jordanian man's case, alerted U.
S. Border Patrol agent John Letourneau that another suspect would be taking a driver's test in early October at the DMV's Springfield department. It was the perfect opportunity for both state and federal authorities to nab him. "It is my intent to charge (cite) this individual…
Source: sevendaysvt.com