Vt amends policy for suspected illegal immigrants

November 4, 2011

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) β€” Gov. Pete Shumlin introduced a new bias-free policing policy Friday in which Vermont state police will not ask an individual about immigration status when investigating a violation. The new policy was prompted by the detention of two Mexican farm workers who were passengers in a vehicle stopped for speeding.

Some Vermont police agencies have already taken a hands-off approach, focusing on criminal activity and not immigration status.

Now, the state police are making that part of their bias-free policing policy, Shumlin and the state's public safety commissioner said.

"This is essentially a situation where the Vermont state police, as have already Burlington police and Middlebury and a number of sheriffs departments ... have adopted a policy that says: 'Our main focus is going to be Vermont criminal statute violations and we're not going to go out of our way to one: investigate just simple immigration law violations, and two: we're not going to feel compelled in every instance that doesn't fit federal enforcement priorities to turn those individuals over to federal authorities,'" said Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell.

The policy β€” with a new section on immigration and citizenship status β€” says state police will not ask an individual about his or her immigration status when investigating a civil violation, but can ask about it in investigations of criminal offenses or suspicious activity in certain cases. The investigation must be based on reasonable suspicion and the immigration status of the suspect must be relevant to the investigation and not the reason for it.

The Vermont policy also makes clear that troopers should continue to investigate suspected criminal activity. It has special provisions for police near the Canadian border, allowing troopers to take action in unlawful border crossings in progress and to call for support from federal authorities to protect an officer or public safety.

The two farmworkers detained in September were processed by the U.S. Border Patrol, which troopers had contacted, and cited for being in the country illegally.

Leaders of the VT Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project called the change "a big step forward," but expressed concern about when police can ask about immigration status. The Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union also was pleased that governor and the state police had made clear that enforcing immigration law is the responsibility of the federal government and not Vermont, said executive director Allen Gilbert.

Sorrell said the policy is consistent with Massachusetts' and inconsistent with tough immigration laws in Arizona and Alabama.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, called Vermont's policy one of the most restrictive on police in the country. "I think it's irresponsible," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the group, which advocates for tougher immigration laws.

He said Vermont was tying the hands of police by not letting them enforce immigration law.

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