May 23, 2025

May 23

Written By VAAP

VAAP Updates: May 2025

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Vermont Asylum Assistance Project is a legal services and technical assistance organization that exists to mentor no-cost and low-cost immigration lawyers and legal workers; educate and serve immigrants and community members; maximize impact across sectors; and advocate to protect immigrants’ rights. www.vaapvt.org.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Donate to VAAP

Legal Wins. Legislative Victories. Local Momentum. This newsletter, we celebrate the ways VAAP has scaled up in every direction, from the courtroom to the community:

✅ 300+ individual donations to the new VT Immigration Legal Defense Fund.
✅ 3 Vermonters freed from ICE detention and co-counsel now on 7 more.
✅ Removal proceedings ended for a family of 4 asylum seekers.
✅ Pro bonos mentored to win asylum grants and green cards.
✅ New pro bono programs launched for bond, removal defense & VT DOC intakes.
✅ Biggest-ever summer & fall intern cohorts recruited.
✅ New contract staff hired to immediately expand direct legal services.
✅ Trained Vermont lawmakers on immigration issues impacting the State House.
✅ Dozens at imminent risk of deportation orders assisted with I-589 filings.
✅ Know-Your-Rights at Pride Center, Migrant Ed, and Bennington’s Multicultural Center.
✅Secured passage of S.56/H.375, S.44/H.298, and S.95/H.98, with key immigrant protections shaped by VAAP’s testimony and technical expertise signed into VT law.

📰VAAP in the news: AlJazeera, WaPo, CBS, CNN, WPTZ, WCAX, VT Public, VT Digger, and more cover launch of VT Immigration Legal Defense Fund to benefit VAAP. And on the litigation front:

🏛️ Recognized at the Vermont Lawyers March as VT's foremost legal volunteer hub.
📰 Featured in VT Digger with Jay Diaz on immigration, free spech, and due process.
🔓 Growing accessibility and content of our multilingual, searchable self-help website.
💥 And thanks to the Legal Defense Fund’s launch, we’re building fast — new staff, new systems, same mission: keep families together, by bringing detained people home.

TL;DR: We're holding the line and changing the tide. Working together, we've got this.

👉 Volunteer with us
👉 Get legal help
👉 Support the Fund

Thanks for all you do!

Jill Martin Diaz, Esq.
Executive Director

VT IMMIGRATION DEFENSE FUND

This month, Mohsen Mahdawi joined State Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale, and community leaders to launch the Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund — a bold initiative benefiting VAAP and its partners to ensure no one in Vermont faces deportation, detention, or family separation without legal representation. Since May 8, over 300 individual donors have stepped up to contribute. The campaign aims to raise $1 million to expand immigration legal defense and build lasting support infrastructure for immigrant communities across the state.

“Due process does not truly exist unless one has adequate legal representation... The federal government cannot be trusted to protect our neighbors, and it is on us to stand up for the Vermont values of fairness and justice.” — Mike Pieciak, Vermont State Treasurer

“We are all less safe if families are forced to fight alone. Vermont can lead the way nationally in showing that we take care of our own, regardless of immigration status.” — Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale

VAAP has already served over 300 individuals statewide since incorporating last year, and trained more than 100 Vermont attorneys to take on pro bono immigration defense.

“We have the legal talent—what we lack is capacity. This fund will change that.” — Jill Martin Diaz, VAAP Executive Director

With backing from the United Way of Northwest Vermont, donations to the Fund are tax-deductible and will support VAAP’s direct services and volunteer infrastructure.

“United is the way we can uphold our commitment to justice and human dignity.” — Jesse Bridges, United Way of Northwest Vermont

Review the international press coverage below:

Student protester Mohsen Mahdawi unveils legal defence fund for immigrants (Al Jazeera)
Mohsen Mahdawi, Columbia student arrested by ICE, helps launch Vermont defense fund (Washington Post)
Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi joins Vermont immigrant legal aid launch (CBS News)
Mohsen Mahdawi helps launch Vermont immigration legal aid initiative (CNN)
Immigrant advocates launch legal defense fund for noncitizen Vermonters (Vermont Public)
With support from Mohsen Mahdawi, state leaders launch immigration legal defense fund (VTDigger)
Photo snapshot: Defense Fund launch event (Rutland Herald)
Vermonters launch state's first immigration legal defense fund (WPTZ NBC5)
Vermont leaders seek $1M for immigration law initiative (MyChamplainValley)
Released Palestinian student helps launch immigrant legal aid initiative in Vermont (WCAX)

Read the full press release here. Donate to the Fund here.

Support the Fund

FOR ADVOCATES

Every Tuesday morning VAAP hosts virtual immigration case rounds for two hours, focusing the first hour on legal service providers and lay service providers. Come when you can and leave when you need. No RSVP - just come prepared to introduce yourself as well as an anonymized version of your case/project questions for judgment-free and action-oriented group discussion. We can't keep up with ad hoc consult requests, so please save your questions and come to VAAP's weekly case rounds instead!

Three Immigration Law Programs for Attorneys Eager to Help You Help Your Clients and Community

6/6/25 @ 10-11am -- Immigration Law 101: Immigration law touches every practice area—from family law to employment, criminal defense to municipal governance—but few Vermont attorneys feel equipped to answer basic questions for their clients. Join us for an accessible overview of the U.S. immigration system, with plain-language explanations of current hot topics, common client scenarios, and practical referral guidance. This session is designed for non-immigration practitioners seeking to better understand how immigration issues intersect with their work. REGISTER HERE FOR IMMIGRATION LAW 101. Speakers: Becky Fu von Trapp and Jill Martin Diaz, co-chairs of the VBA Immigration Law Section.

6/13/25 @ 10-11am -- Employment-Based Immigration: Employment-based immigration tools aren’t just for corporate clients. In this advanced session, we will explore how employment pathways can intersect with humanitarian cases and removal defense strategies. From leveraging work-based visas for clients in removal proceedings to creative alternatives to employment authorization, this CLE will provide practical insights for expanding your advocacy toolbox. Ideal for practitioners ready to think outside the box and collaborate across immigration law subfields. REGISTER HERE FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION. Speakers: Becky Fu von Trapp and Jill Martin Diaz, co-chairs of the VBA Immigration Law Section.

6/16/25 @ 1-2:30pm -- Immigration Bond Practice 101: Vermont lawyers showed up in force at the Vermont Lawyers March—now take the next step in helping Vermont legal services attorneys in bringing detained immigrants home. ICE routinely detains immigrants facing removal proceedings for no discernible reason and strategically isolates detainees in faraway detention centers, hoping they’ll give up on their meritorious applications and defenses and instead opt to self-deport. Vermont legal services attorneys are fighting back—filing Immigration Court motions for custody redeterminations and winning release. This 90-minute practical training will introduce you to immigration bond practice: how to challenge ICE detention and help reunite people with their families while their immigration cases move forward in court. Join this time-limited, high-impact effort! No prior immigration experience required, and no obligation to take on the full case after bond. REGISTER HERE FOR IMMIGRATION BOND PRACTICE 101. Speaker: Jill Martin Diaz, VAAP, and additional VAAP attorneys.

FOR COMMUNITIES

TODAY AT THE STATE HOUSE!

📣 ACT TODAY: Help Pass Fair Housing Protections Before State House Recess!

We did it with S.56 (Office of New Americans), S.44 (limits on ICE contracts), and S.95/H.98 (standby guardianships). Now we need your voice to get H.169 across the finish line before the legislature adjourns.

🏡 H.169 adds immigration status as a protected class in Vermont’s Fair Housing law — ensuring all families can access safe housing without fear or discrimination.

🟢 VAAP and partners helped shape and pass the immigrant protections in S.56/H.375, S.44/H.298, and S.95/H.98. Let’s make H.169 the next victory.

📍 Show up at the Statehouse today
📞 Call your lawmakers and urge immediate action on H.169

✊ Together, we protect the right to live with dignity — no exceptions.

Learn about VAAP's legislative victories this session here.

FROM PARTNERS

⚠️ Federal Impact Report Form Now Live

How are federal actions—like funding cuts, executive orders, and policy shifts—impacting your organization and the communities you serve? VAAP is partnering with Common Good Vermont and other allies to collect vital data on the impact of federal changes in Vermont. Your input will help shape coordinated statewide advocacy and response. Also join VAAP at the next Common Good Vermont membership convening to continue building a collaborative approach to nonprofit resilience!

👉 Submit your response and share your story here.

🎉 Thursday, May 29 – Pride Gala!

Calling all Vermont partners: Director Jill Martin Diaz wouldn’t be here doing immigration legal defense work without access to insurance-supported, gender-affirming care. Period. That’s why they were proud to co-sponsor a Pride Center of Vermont Gala table in honor of Vermont Queer Law & Policy Professionals and VAAP and the communities that make our work possible. Come celebrate with us and remember: queer and trans joy is an act of resistance. Special thanks to comrade Phoebe Zorn and all the amazing Pride Center staff and volunteers for uplifting LGBTQ+ Vermonters every day.

🌈 Learn more about the Gala and join us.

⚾ Friday, June 6 – VAAP at the Ballpark!

Join us at Centennial Field as the Vermont Bar Foundation partners with the Vermont Lake Monsters for a night of community, fun, and fundraising! 🧢 For every ticket sold through the special link, $4 goes directly to the VBF to support legal aid and access to justice. Bring your friends, bring your family, and cheer for a good cause.

🎟️ Buy tickets here.

VERMONT LAWYERS MARCH

⚖️ Vermont Lawyers Rally for Rule of Law and Grassroots Legal Defense

An estimated 500 to 1,000 attorneys marched up Church Street from the Chittenden Superior Courthouse to the federal building in a powerful show of unity. The rally featured a dynamic lineup of speakers including Harry Stark, ACLU; David Silver, Criminal Defense Attorney; Charity Clark, Vermont Attorney General; Dawn Seibert, Vermont Defender General's Office; and Elizabeth Shackelford, former Foreign Service Diplomat and Columnist. A majority of speakers urged colleagues to channel their passion into direct action for our most immediately impacted neighbors by volunteering through VAAP’s pro bono mentorship program to support immigrant detainees. Without individual legal claims, there is no due process litigation, and no structural change. We’re proud that VAAP and our partners were recognized for building grassroots defense capacity across Vermont. Catch up:

THANK YOU FROM OUR TEAM