"Four for four:" Camila is free!
Posted Sat, 03/21/2026 - 2:17pm
On Friday, March 20th, Camila won her release and walked out of the court a free woman. Camila had spent nine days in detention, separated from her family, following the brutal ICE raid of her home in South Burlington on March 11th.
Camila's triumphant release caps a week of near constant rallies in support of detained community members. Hundreds of Vermonters spent hours chanting and singing in support of their neighbors' freedom – even withstanding yesterday's driving spring blizzard – and celebrated the releases of Camila, Cristian, and Johana, as well as of Jaime, a Winooski resident detained by ICE in a traffic stop the day before the South Burlington raid.
Camila walks out of the federal courthouse after nine days in detention. Photo credit Lucy Tompkins, Sevens Days
Among those rallying yesterday in support of Camila was Cristian, newly released and reunited with his family. Cristian addressed the crowd, thanking them for their solidarity during his own detention and committing to join the struggle. Despite the trauma and terror of the past week, Vermont's immigrant communities are refusing to back down. Migrant Justice's commitment to grassroots organizing – of gathering the community to identify common problems, envision collective solutions, and build their power to take action together – continues unabated. Last night, we held a mass community assembly in Addison County with record turnout to discuss next steps in the fight for human rights.
That fight will continue on Monday, as the Burlington City Council meets to review the role of the Burlington Police Department during the 3/11 ICE home raid. The heads of the police agencies that supported ICE's violent actions are closing ranks to deny culpability and promote a new narrative: rather than aiding ICE's raid by brutalizing community members and clearing a path to the home, they say, local and state police were acting to protect the protestors.