Press Release: 3 Detained, Dozens Brutalized by ICE Agents in Collaboration with State and Local Police

(corrected 3/15/26 to update errors in spelling of names and the number of protestors who were detained, as well as clarify VSP's involvement in breaking down the door)

Just before 8:00 am on March 11, 2026, Migrant Justice received word on our emergency line about an attempted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in progress at 337 Dorset St, South Burlington. A Migrant Justice volunteer arrived on the scene and confirmed that there were at least 3 ICE agents on site. We then activated our Rapid Response Network at approximately 8:30 am.

For hours, dozens – and then hundreds – of allies rallied in front of the Dorset St home. We sang, shared food, and made sure that the people inside knew they were not alone. Protestors self-organized to keep each other fed, warm, and relatively dry despite the cold rain. Throughout the day, dozens of ICE, Border Patrol, Vermont State Police, South Burlington Police, and Burlington Police officers were present.

At approximately 5:30 pm, heavily armed Vermont State Troopers helped ICE smash down the door to the home, allowing the federal agents to rush inside. From outside, protestors could hear loud banging. A witness inside, José Jerez, watched armed officers chase people through the home. One officer tripped and fired their service weapon. Luckily, no one was struck by the bullet.

Federal agents detained three people:

• Cristian Jerez Andrade, age 31, of Honduras
• Camila Patin Patin, age 20, of Ecuador
• Jissela Johana Patin Patin (“Johana”), age 31, of Ecuador

None of the three was named on the warrant that agents used to enter the home. The man named in the warrant – Deyvi Daniel Corona Sanchez – was never present on the scene yesterday, nor was he the driver at the time of the accident. The Patin Patin sisters are both in the US seeking asylum. 

As officers dragged Jerez Andrade and the Patin Patin sisters out of the house, protestors chanted and called for their release, and ultimately engaged in civil disobedience in an attempt to stop the officers from removing them from the scene. Officers fired chemical weapons, flash-bangs, and rubber bullets, brutalizing protesters – even striking at least one with a car – and detaining seven. The seven were removed from the scene but ultimately released.

The three people immigration officers detained from inside the house remain in custody and are currently being held in Vermont state prisons: Jerez Andrade in Northwest State Correctional Facility (NWSCF) and the Patin Patin sisters in Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF).

Yesterday, Vermont law enforcement agents leveraged state power to support federal immigration agents in what we believe to be a clear violation of the state’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy. Together, police and immigration officers violently separated families, ripped immigrant Vermonters from their home, and attacked protestors who bravely stood in solidarity with their neighbors.

This marks a drastic escalation of longstanding patterns of human rights abuses and violence carried out against our community by local, state, and federal law enforcement. We demand the immediate release of Cristian Jerez Andrade, Camila Patin Patin, and Johana Patin Patin, as well as a thorough investigation into the officers’ misconduct and violations of Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policies. We also demand that any charges against protesters be dropped.

“¡La migra, la policía, la misma porquería! We cannot allow police and federal agents to violently attack and separate families. Yesterday’s protest was a deeply moving show of solidarity by Vermonters who believe that everyone, regardless of immigration status or where they’re from, deserves dignity and safety. We will keep fighting until our friends are home with our community and the officers involved in this disgusting show of brutality are held accountable.” – Thelma Gomez, Migrant Justice