Stream legislative immigration panel

Building Bridges: VAAP at the Vermont State House Immigration Law Panel

Last night, VAAP’s Executive Director, Jill Martin Diaz, joined a distinguished panel at the Vermont State House to brief legislators on pressing immigration law issues. The two-hour session, available for streaming via ORCA Media here, featured:

• Brett Stokes, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Justice Reform Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School

• Leslie Holman, of Holman Immigration Law

• Dave Celone, of Vermont Law & Graduate School

• Representative Leonora Dodge (Chittenden-23)

• Representative Emily Long (Windham-5)

The panel commenced with clarifying common immigration terms—such as refugee vs. asylee, documented vs. undocumented, nonimmigrant vs. immigrant, and removal proceedings vs. expedited removal—to establish a shared understanding. Discussions then addressed the real-time impacts of shifting federal immigration enforcement on families, schools, employers, and legal advocates. Best practices were shared for supporting immigrants in various settings, including at home, school, work, and during legal appointments. A significant focus was placed on how systemic racism compounds risks for Black immigrants. The panel highlighted the upcoming "Know Your Rights" event in Bennington on May 2nd, organized to support Haitian CHNV parolees residing there.

The session concluded with a celebration of Vermont’s legacy as a constitutional and civil rights leader and a discussion of key state legislation aimed at supporting immigrant communities:

• S.56 – Establish a Vermont Office of New Americans

• H.169 – Expand fair housing protections to include immigration status

• S.95 – Clarify standby guardianship processes for immigrant families

• S.44 – Heighten scrutiny of contracts between Vermont entities and ICE

Dave Celone made an appeal for charitable giving to direct immigration legal services providers like VAAP and the Center for Justice Reform Clinic, as well as to the Vermont Bar Foundation, which supports these organizations and their partners.

Jill Martin Diaz closed the evening with these five key takeaways:

1. Fear is the strategy. Leaders must regulate and lead by example, avoiding media stunts. Distinguish between felt and legal emergencies to help others do the same.

2. No rights without remedies. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst when asserting rights. Expect actors to err and normalize detention—the law can and will get you out. Rights will wither without us holding them close and using them as our individual safety, needs, access, and risk tolerance allow.

3. Rights are for everyone to protect and enjoy! Educate ourselves to provide reliable information to those with access barriers. Remember: "Am I being detained? I assert my right to remain silent. I assert my right to speak to an attorney. Don’t concede, don’t impede."

4. Be a good witness! Utilize Rapid Response for emergency response to ICE actions while they are taking place at 802-881-7229, and report activities subsequent to the event at bit.ly/report-migra-vt.

5. Know where to go. For routine (non-detained) immigration legal service needs, call 1-800-889-2047 or visit vtlawhelp.org. Learn more at www.vaapvt.org.

Special thanks to our legislative hosts and organizers: Representatives Leonora Dodge, Emily Carris-Duncan, Peter Conlon, and Shawn Sweeney, whose leadership and care made this convening possible.

Let’s keep building. Vermont can and should lead the way.