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Statement on ICE Raid in South Burlington
Wednesday morning I was notified of ICE activity in S. Burlington and as soon as my work at the Statehouse was done I drove there to stand with not only those I represent, but the entire community who stepped in to protect the rights of fellow community members. Early in the morning, ICE was tracking a car that had previously belonged to a Mexican citizen they had an administrative – not criminal – warrant for. The driver was not the person named in the administrative warrant and was terrified to be surrounded by unmarked SUVs. While in the middle of morning rush hour on Dorset St, ICE attempted to box this driver in, resulting in several crashes. This person and their passenger then ran for safety in a nearby home. At no point was the person named on the administrative warrant at that home. For several hours community members surrounded the house to keep ICE from illegally breaking in without a warrant signed by a judge. I arrived just as ICE had finally obtained a judicial warrant and entered after a VT State Police cleared a path so an ICE officer could break down the front door. Three people were dragged out of the house, none of whom were named on the warrant.
What I experienced from then on was a complete abuse of power and a violation of the Fair and Impartial Policing Policy. While there were many state and local law enforcement officers working hard to keep people safe, I also witnessed officers who took protesters to unmarked ICE vehicles, aggressively threw people to the ground, and shoved people who were not involved in any sort of obstruction. Community members were injured, and many are now traumatized and afraid. ICE agents used pepper spray and tear gas without provocation, drove into groups of people, and attempted to run over incapacitated protesters. I watched agents rip off community members’ masks and spray irritants directly in their faces just because they could. Their violent, erratic and dangerous behavior did absolutely nothing to make our community safer, and now three people who have committed no crime are detained and senselessly separated from their children.
As a state Senator, I call for the immediate investigation into state and local law enforcement’s role in this operation, and I again call for the passing of S. 208, which will make the use of face masks and lack of identification illegal for law enforcement operating in the state in most instances. As a Vermonter, I am exhausted, I am sad, and I’m concerned for the safety of my community. What happened Wednesday was not only reckless and dangerous, it was a complete waste of resources that are desperately needed elsewhere. I hope this is a wake up call for many who didn’t believe this could happen here. Now it’s time to do better.
The Investments We Need for Public Safety
I have had the opportunity to connect with dozens of constituents, small business owners, and justice professionals about public safety in our community and what keeps inspiring me to do this work - despite all the divisiveness that paints us as on opposite sides of these issues - is that we agree on far more than we disagree on. We agree that we need to do so much better addressing the issues that drive crime in the first place; affordable housing, mental health services, substance use disorder treatment, and accessible educational opportunities just to name a few. We also agree that if we want to talk about accountability, we have to clear the backlog in the judicial system. No one - not the businesses, not the people who have committed crimes, not the people working in public safety - is better off when cases take years to get in front of a judge. I voted to increase funding to the judicial system because we need to fix this, and we can't do it unless we fix the massive understaffing that's leading to this. We also agree that, based on 50 years of Department of Justice research, increasing felony penalties does nothing to deter crime, and therefore the retail theft bill will not solve the issue. All it does is cost us more to incarcerate someone for a longer time and make it far less likely for them to get a job and housing when they're released from prison, which means they're more likely to reoffend. I will not vote for bills that cost our state more money and make crime more likely. I will continue to vote for bills that increase our restorative justice system, and make investments in our communities which address the root causes of crime and give people who have committed crimes the highest likelihood of staying out of prison and meeting their needs legally.
As a senator I don't have any influence over the policing and safety decisions made at the local level but I encourage everyone who is concerned about what's happening in your neighborhoods to work with your city councilors and selectboard members. That's where those decisions are made. My goal is to work in partnership with local leaders while making sure that the policy the senate sets spends taxpayer money as wisely as possible, while also making sure that the outcomes actually do what we say we want them to. We are all working toward the goal of keeping crime from occurring in the first place, and if it does, making sure that those involved have timely accountability and steps forward that restore trust and opportunities for everyone’s future.