Dear Editor,
Saturday, Feb. 7, marked a full year of Woodstock area residents, nonresidents and visitors, meeting daily, from 12-1 p.m., at Tribou Park in Woodstock to peacefully protest the assaults on our country’s democracy by our current federal administration. Undaunted by foul weather, this tenacious group, with their creative signs and determined spirits, stand up every day in solidarity with those who’ve been killed or detained, those who’ve lost their jobs or their liberty, and those who’ve lost their hope or faith in our America. All three of your state senators joined them Saturday to applaud their effort.
While we cannot join the Woodstock protesters every day, we are working in the legislature, with the attorney general’s office and the administration, to limit this current federal administration’s attack on the rule of law and its ability to impact Vermont and Vermonters. We’ve taken actions to protect Vermont from changes in federal law, and cuts in funding key programs, social services, and immigrant rights. We’ve limited local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and saved money to combat federal cuts to essential programs Vermonters count on like SNAP and 3Squares.
The attorney general’s office has joined other states in numerous lawsuits which threaten a wide range of issues, from environmental programs, FEMA funding, and preventing important agencies from being dismantled, to immigration fees. The secretary of state’s office is working on protecting our free and fair elections, and the legislature has taken several steps to further protect our LBGTQIA+ Vermonters. And the treasurer’s office has launched a task force to monitor federal policy changes which directly impact Vermont and Vermonters.
Next week, the Senate hopes to pass two bills to protect Vermonters. The first, S.208 is designed to require that all law enforcement, including ICE officers, working in Vermont must wear identifying information, and shall not wear a mask or personal disguise unless needed to prevent the transmission of airborne diseases or for smoke exposure or other rescue operations. The second bill, S.209, prohibits civil arrests in sensitive locations like schools, health care facilities, and shelters.
In the wake of the devastating outcomes of Operation Metro Surge and the tragic deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, on Friday, Feb. 6, the Senate, passed a tripartisan resolution (the majority of Republicans voted to support), S.R. 21, calling for the President of the United States to suspend this operation and take “urgent steps to deescalate federal law enforcement actions, and reset the federal government’s immigration enforcement priorities toward individuals who pose genuine threats to public safety, in full compliance with constitutional limits and the rule of law.” The resolution condemns the extrajudicial killings of Good and Pretti as “grave violations of human dignity, civil liberties, and the constitutional protections owed to all persons,” and declares that the “lawful exercise of these constitutional rights – peacefully, responsibly, and within the bounds of the law – can never justify empowering federal agents to act as judge, jury ,and executioner, nor employing lethal forces outside established legal process and accountability”.
I appreciate hearing from you. I can be reached by email at aclarkson@leg.state.vt.us; by phone at the Statehouse, Tuesday-Friday, at 802-828-2228; or at home, Saturday-Monday, at 802- 457-4627. To get more information on the Vermont Legislature, and the bills which have been proposed and passed, visit legislature.vermont.gov.
Sincerely,
Sen. Alison Clarkson
Windsor District