Vermont poised to pass “Housing Access for Immigrant Families” law

As U.S. Marines patrol the streets of Los Angeles to repress dissent against ICE raids, it is clear that attacks on immigrant communities and their defenders will continue to escalate under this administration. Vermont is not exempt from these intensifying attacks, yet despite the risks, immigrant communities refuse to be silenced. 

ICE and Border Patrol are surveilling, detaining, and deporting immigrants across the state. Immigrants are being arrested outside their homes, at work, or on the roads. Vermont jails are being turned into holding cells for immigrant detainees; over half of all bookings at Vermont’s women’s prison last month came from ICE. On June 8th in Burlington, armed ICE agents swarmed and surrounded an asylum-seeker, construction worker, husband, and father of a four-year-old son as he left for work in the morning. He is now in detention, at risk of being deported and permanently separated from his family.

Last night, on June 10th, hundreds marched and rallied in Burlington in an emergency action in solidarity with the people of Los Angeles and all those resisting the criminalization of migrants. Migrant Justice leader Cristian Santos addressed the crowd:

ICE is attacking and detaining our community in Vermont. While ICE patrols the streets, they would have us cower in our homes, terrorized into submission. But we will not allow this government to criminalize us, detain us, and separate families. Defending ourselves is not violence; it is a human right!

Migrant Justice is building community power, not only to defend against ICE and Border Patrol arrests, but to push forward new rights and protections. For the last two years, we have led the fight in the legislature for Housing Access for Immigrant Families. The proposal was recently passed by the Vermont House and Senate and is now sitting on the Governor’s desk, poised to become law.

Once signed into law, this proposal will provide some of the strongest protections in the country against housing discrimination. The law will ensure that immigrant Vermonters can’t be discriminated against in housing or public accommodations because of their immigration or citizenship status, and that landlords cannot require a Social Security number during the rental application process.

Even as attacks against immigrants have intensified, Migrant Justice members have tirelessly organized, traveled to the State House to share testimony of housing discrimination, and bravely advocated for the bill’s passage. We have overcome strong opposition from landlords, banks, and bigots who protested the thought of being “forced” to rent to immigrant families. And we have shown that when immigrant rights are under attack, the community will not hide in fear but will stand up and fight back.

This Friday, June 13th, join us at noon on the steps in front of the Vermont State House to celebrate the passage of this historic legislation!