follow up Release: ICE Disappears “Newport Ten” AS IMMIGRATION ADVOCATES MOBILIZE DETENTION DEFENSE PROJECT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 10, 2025
ICE Disappears “Newport Ten” and Vermont Legal Advocates Mobilize in Response
BURLINGTON, VT — Two weeks after ten immigrant workers were arrested by ICE in Newport, Vermont, their whereabouts remain unknown. Despite repeated inquiries from attorneys, journalists, and members of Congress, ICE has refused to confirm where the individuals are being held or whether they have been released.
“What we’re seeing is calculated silence,” said attorney Jill Martin Diaz, Executive Director of the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP). “Some of these individuals reportedly had valid immigration status or pending relief, yet they vanished into ICE custody with no notice or opportunity to be heard.”
VAAP deployed trained volunteers to Vermont correctional facilities within 24 hours of receiving requests for help related to both the “Newport Ten” and the “CRCF Seven,” a group of women transferred by ICE from Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility to Chicago on a commercial flight, and then to Washington, D.C. without disembarking. While no trace of the Newport Ten was found, VAAP encountered numerous individuals recently transferred into Vermont from other states—confirming ICE’s practice of disappearing local detainees and importing others, in ways that obstruct access to counsel across the board.
These detention practices are part of a broader erosion of due process in immigration proceedings, including:
Increased barriers to asylum and bond.
New limits on judge and officer discretion.
Case dismissals for so-called “recent arrivals” to avoid hearings.
Barriers to attorney access and language interpretation in ICE custody.
Defunding of legal service providers amid rising demand.
Discriminatory bans on travel, family reunification, and status adjustment.
These are not abstract concerns. VAAP is currently seeking pro bono representation for a South American political dissident whose asylum case was referred to immigration court after a brief screening by out-of-state USCIS officers. Despite ample corroboration of the client’s credible fear of persecution, ICE is rushing the case toward expedited removal without a full hearing, in violation of federal and international law.
In another case, a Northeast Kingdom Asylum Seekers Assistance Network or NEKASAN-supported asylum seeker from West Africa was detained during a routine ICE supervision appointment and denied bond, despite strong legal claims, deep community ties, and zero threats to community safety. VAAP is assisting with their appeal of the immigration judge’s exceedingly narrow reading of evolving bond law, unfairly raising the burden on both client and counsel.
As with VAAP’s representation of the “Berkshire Eight” — eight Migrant Justice farmworkers whose detention was challenged in collaboration with the Center for Justice Reform Clinic — the organization is filling a longstanding gap in Vermont’s immigration legal infrastructure. VAAP is growing quickly but intentionally, focusing on high acuity needs while tracking policy shifts, testing strategies, and building sustainable systems in collaboration with regional and national partners.
“This weekly rhythm of draconian policy announcements each Friday and increasing detention defense requests come Monday isn’t just a trend,” Martin Diaz added. “It’s the breakdown of last-stop humanitarian protections, threatening the lives of individual immigrants and fundamental fairness for us all.”
Since incorporating in late 2023, VAAP’s growing network of staff and volunteers has provided limited asylum filing assistance to dozens of individuals and families across Vermont. Most VAAP clients have arrived within the past two years and are now approaching critical milestones in their cases, including asylum interviews, immigration court hearings, and ICE check-ins. As federal enforcement becomes more aggressive, timely access to legal counsel is increasingly essential to prevent unnecessary detentions and coerced departures.
In response, VAAP is scaling service delivery, contributing rapid-response tools, and deepening coordination across Vermont’s advocacy network. “We can’t prevent every injustice,” said Kate Paarlberg-Kvam, VAAP board vice president and legal volunteer. “But we can show up for the people the system is failing, and build structures that honor their dignity, even when the rule of law falls short.”
VAAP is showing up by building community partner capacity to take over signature asylum filing assistance work and make way for new legal defense strategies, including:
Rapid response legal intake and orientation in Vermont prisons through VAAP’s ICE Detainee Intervention Project.
Emergency legal training for Vermont attorneys in bond and habeas litigation.
Relaunch of the VAAP ICE Tracker, a public, verified dataset on reported ICE activity.
A statewide pro bono mentor panel to expand supervision capacity and ensure service quality as well as quantity.
Behind the scenes, VAAP and partners like the ACLU of Vermont are also coordinating with state agencies and lawmakers to ensure legal staff and volunteers can access correctional facilities efficiently. The goal is to provide legal orientation and support before ICE transfers people to remote detention centers in the South, where counsel is even harder to access. “We cannot let ICE be the only voice explaining detained immigrants’ rights,” said Martin Diaz. “Reaching people while they’re still in Vermont custody is our best chance to prevent them from being pressured into waiving those rights.”
As VAAP and partners continue building the legal infrastructure Vermont has long lacked, community members can help by taking the following steps:
Access self-help information and attorney training materials at vaapvt.org, including guidance on asylum, detention, and due process in removal proceedings.
Report emergency immigration enforcement actions to the Migrant Justice Rapid Response Line at 802-881-7229, including personally witnessed and actively unfolding border checkpoints, roadside stops, or ICE arrests.
Report other immigration enforcement activity to VAAP using our ICE Tracker, including parked or moving law enforcement vehicles or apparent relocations of ICE detainees.
Refer individuals seeking direct immigration legal assistance to Legal Services Vermont at 1-800-889-2047 or [vtlawhelp.org/]vtlawhelp.org for further referral, while VAAP and allies work to launch a statewide immigration legal intake system.
This evening’s solidarity action in Burlington reflects a growing public demand for oversight, fairness, and accountability, one that is echoed by the rising number of new VAAP supporters helping us navigate the catastrophic loss of federal funding which threatened to cut operations by half, a loss we continue to litigate as an organizational co-plaintiff in CLESPA v. HHS.
Today, VAAP’s work to preserve and expand access to justice is generously supported by a growing coalition including hundreds of individual donors and foundations, an anonymous women’s giving circle, and the Vermont Immigrant Legal Defense Fund. “We’ve proven VAAP can respond to high-stakes legal issues of first impression effectively and on short notice,” said Paarlberg-Kvam. “Now we need the resources to scale, and the people of Vermont to volunteer.”
Media Contact: Jill Martin Diaz, Executive Director, at info@vaapvt.org or 802-999-5654.
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