Rapid Response

If you need emergency assistance, call 802-881-7229. This number is for EMERGENCIES ONLY. For general inquiries, please call the Migrant Justice office (802-540-8370) or email info@migrantjustice.net. 

Migrant Justice is a Vermont-based grassroots human rights organization founded and led by immigrant workers. Since 2009, we have built the voice, capacity, and power of our community to organize for economic justice and human rights. Migrant Justice brings together community members to analyze shared problems and envision collective solutions. Our work results in transformative, structural change through laws and policies expanding immigrant rights and through the Milk with Dignity Program.

Immigrants in Vermont have long organized to protect themselves from attacks by federal deportation agencies; the Migrant Justice Rapid Response Network is a continuation of that work. Following Trump’s reelection and the subsequent increase in immigration detentions, we have reactivated and expanded our rapid response network to mobilize allies in moments of crisis. Migrant Justice has three key goals with the network: 

  1. Verify reports to ensure that any information we share is accurate and disprove rumors
  2. Mobilize allies to respond in moments of crisis; and
  3. Alert impacted communities so that they can make informed decisions about how to protect themselves.

Our statewide rapid response network is made up of thousands of Vermonters who are trained to respond in moments of immigration enforcement crisis. 

We coordinate the network via text blast, so you must have a cellphone to take part. To join, fill out our Sign Up form and make sure to select “rapid response” from the list of volunteer interests. Because we target alerts geographically, make sure to share at least your zip code. After you sign up, you’ll start receiving alerts about both trainings and calls for immediate support. Please note that after you receive the initial confirmation text, you may not get many texts – this is a good thing! Receiving a text means that someone is in crisis and at risk of being violently separated from their community and loved ones.

The Migrant Justice Rapid Response Network is not an alternative to town- and neighborhood-level organizing. Instead, we use our front-line experience with immigration enforcement, deep community ties, and expansive networks to coordinate rapid response throughout the entire state (see best practices below).

  • Do you want to join Migrant Justice’s rapid response network? Fill out this form and make sure to select “rapid response,” as well as any other volunteer interests you may have. We will also use this list to share information about upcoming trainings.
  • Are you part of a local organizing hub? Fill out this form to connect.
  • Are you interested in sponsoring a rapid response training in your community? Fill out this interest form.

Key materials:

Best practices for local rapid response efforts:

  • Follow the ALERTA guidelines highlighted in the graphic above. This helps to ensure that any information that you share is accurate and actionable, and it reduces the spread of misinformation.
  • Don’t publish unverified information. Sharing unverified reports contributes to the spread of misinformation, which creates unnecessary fear and saps our collective capacity to respond in true moments of crisis. Call the Migrant Justice emergency line for support verifying suspected immigration enforcement.
  • Make sure that you’re connected to Migrant Justice! Report confirmed actions in your area to our emergency line (802-881-7229) and make sure to have at least a couple of representatives join our rapid response list.