ICE Out!

The last two months have seen a surge of activity, both from the murderous paramilitary forces of ICE and Border Patrol attacking communities, and from the inspiring responses of those same communities to organize in self-defense. From Minnesota to Maine – and here in Vermont – federal deportation agencies continue to persecute immigrants at unprecedented levels while encountering new forms of resistance at every turn.

The popular pressure against Trump’s attacks is having an impact. On Friday, the U.S. Senate blocked continued funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Migrant Justice has been meeting with Vermont’s congressional delegation in recent weeks to urge an end to funding for ICE and Border Patrol. We applaud last week’s vote against these abusive agencies.

The DHS shutdown – while not immediately halting immigration enforcement – is a step in the right direction and puts the focus squarely where it belongs: the outrageous levels of funding for these lawless agencies. Rather than falling into the trap of negotiating symbolic or counterproductive “reforms” like body cameras, Migrant Justice calls on elected officials to hold the line and ensure that not another dollar goes to ICE and Border Patrol.

Here in Vermont, we continue to push forward a package of legislative actions that would curtail attacks against immigrant communities and provide greater protections from detention and deportation. Last week, we were in the State House to celebrate as two bills passed nearly unanimously through the Vermont Senate. S.208 requires all agents to identify themselves by name and agency and limits the use of face masks. S.209 prohibits immigration detentions in certain sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals, and places of worship. The House will soon hold hearings on H.849, creating a way for people to sue federal officials in state courts, and on Migrant Justice’s highest priority bill of the session, H.742, requiring the state to provide legal representation to people at risk of deportation.

Check out the ACLU-VT’s summary of legislative activity and take action to let your legislator know that you support these bills!

State and federal interventions are needed to stop the attacks on immigrants. After last year’s tenfold increase in ICE and Border Patrol detentions in Vermont, the agencies show no sign of stopping in 2026. Their actions continue to terrorize communities and separate families, such as through the recent deportation of farmworker, father, and longtime Migrant Justice member Facundo Dominguez. 

But we are not waiting for new laws for us to stand up to these abuses. Migrant Justice is growing our Rapid Response Network – now at over 2,000 trained volunteers around the state – and building the capacity of other community organizations in Vermont and beyond to fight for the freedom of detained community members. (Stay tuned for more information about the network – and in the meantime, sign up here!) 

These actions were on full display following the recent detention of pastor, healthcare professional, and torture-survivor Steven Tendo. After ICE detained Steven at his place of work – despite a pending asylum claim and a regularly scheduled check-in for later that week – Migrant Justice sprung into action. Within an hour, dozens of Vermonters were on their way to the state’s ICE office to protest Steven’s detention and call for his release. Through popular support and legal interventions, Steven’s support team has stopped his deportation and transfer out of the region – at least for now.

Stay up-to-date on Steven’s case and find ways to support the fight for his release!

We know that resistance to this cruel regime is possible because we see its impact every day. From the flourishing of mass strikes, legal observers, and mutual aid efforts in Minnesota, to the organizing of immigrant communities in Vermont, we are standing up to the Trump administration. On the same day of Steven’s detention, another immigrant targeted by ICE – father and taxi driver Hussein Noor Hussein, detained a month before at the taxi stand of Burlington airport – walked out of court a free man and hugged his family in front of a cheering crowd of supporters.