VAAP Talks ICE Beds w. Seven Days
Vermont Renews Deal to Hold Federal Immigration Detainees
“The new agreement is nearly identical to the old one, despite calls from lawmakers and advocates to beef up services for immigrant detainees.
“Vermont has quietly renewed its contract to hold federal immigration detainees in state prisons, and, despite calls from state lawmakers and advocates to beef up the protections and services provided to detainees, the new agreement is nearly identical to the old one.
“The lone difference between the two pacts is the amount the feds will pay the state. Instead of $180 a night per detainee, the Department of Corrections will now receive $185. That rate will increase incrementally to $208.22 by August 2029, after which it will increase 3 percent each year. The contract does not have an expiration date.
“The new ‘memorandum of understanding,’ signed by Corrections Commissioner Jon Murad on September 4, went into effect on Friday.
“Jill Martin Diaz, executive director of the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, was glad to hear it was renewed, if only to ensure detainees will not be sent out of state by default.
“But Diaz, who has been pushing for more regular access to legal services for detainees, said they were disappointed the agreement doesn’t address any of those concerns directly.
“‘Glad to hear there’s still access, not surprised to hear that there aren’t any additional protections, especially based on how significant prisoner’s rights issues have been getting in the way of our ability to do meaningful legal work,’ Diaz said.
“Vermont has long had an agreement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol to hold federal detainees. Until recently, most would spend about 72 hours in a Vermont correctional facility before being moved elsewhere, former Corrections commissioner Nicholas Deml told lawmakers in July.
“But since President Donald Trump took office in January and ramped up immigration enforcement, the number of detainees and the amount of time they spend in Vermont prisons has been growing, Deml said. Increasingly, Vermont facilities are also being used to house U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees from other states.
“The result is a system that is struggling to process a higher volume of people while facing a heightened need for medical, legal and language services to accommodate their longer stays.”
