Tag Archives: migrant justice

ICE out time in Vermont

The non-profit investigative journalism organization ProPublica is asking for help through crowd-sourcing: enlisting members of the public in keeping an eye out for ICEU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

VTICEout

 

Specifically, ProPublica is looking for people to report where ICE and the CBP are seen to be  operating, especially those places that might be considered sensitive: Officially, both U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection say they “generally” avoid arrests, interviews or surveillance related to immigration enforcement at “sensitive locations,” which include places of worship, hospitals, schools, weddings, funerals and public demonstrations.

But there are some pretty large exceptions to the policy: Courthouses and workplaces do not have any special protection from immigration enforcement activities. Ambulances pass through immigration checkpoints in border cities. And while certain buildings are considered off limits, nothing keeps agents from intercepting people as they leave. Immigration agents are also allowed to conduct enforcement actions at sensitive locations with approval from a supervisor, or in “exigent circumstances.”

We have seen that immigration sweeps have grown more frequent nationally since Trump has been in office. An ICE raid in Vermont and the arrest of 14 construction workers in Colchester this January brought home to us in Vermont the immigration enforcement crack-down.

ICE says arrests at sensitive locations are “exceedingly rare,” yet Trump’s enforcement agencies don’t keep track of how, or how often, “exigent circumstances” occur.

To document if these enforcement location exceptions are actually rare or not ProPublica has teamed up with Univison News (the American Spanish language news organization) to offer a mechanism for people to confidentially report where, when and how these operations are taking place, and how the sweeps or raids are affecting them.

Has an immigration enforcement action impacted you or someone you know? Have you changed a habit or stopped going somewhere because of ICE or CBP activities? Tell us  [the ProPublica website asks in an online reporting form].  A note about our commitment to your privacy: ProPublica and Univision News are gathering these stories for the purposes of our reporting, and will not voluntarily share your information with third parties without your express permission.

Vermonters might want to help: after all it is mud season in Vermont, and tradition dictates we watch for when ICE is out.