migrant justice

Migrant Justice and a series of local sponsors host the final match in a regional soccer tournament played by teams of migrant farmworkers from around New England. The event is held at Tree Farm Soccer Complex in Essex Junction, VT.

For more information visit MigrantJustice.net.

Community Groups, Unions Hold May Day Car Caravan Rallies On International Workers Day, solidarity with essential workers and calls for a “People’s Bailout” What: May 1st is celebrated around the world as International Workers Day. Vermonters are commemorating the holiday with car caravan rallies around the state. Community organizations and labor unions are organizing caravans to different symbolic sites to show solidarity with essential workers and lift up calls for crisis responses that focus on workers’ health and welfare. Sponsors of the events include community organizations and labor unions, including (but not limited to): Migrant Justice, Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, Vermont AFL-CIO, AFT-Vermont, Vermont Workers Center, Rural Vermont, 350Vermont, Vermont Interfaith Action, Peace and Justice Center, Community Voices for Immigrant Rights, Rights and Democracy VT, Rights and Democracy NH, Burlington Tenants Union, VT National Lawyers Guild, NH National Lawyers Guild, Upper Valley Interfaith Action, RISE Upper Valley, Champlain Valley DSA, Upper Valley DSA, Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington The Burlington caravan drove past the following sites, stopping at some, and hearing from organizations representing workers or leading campaigns focused on each site: UVM Medical Center: Solidarity with Healthcare Workers! Healthcare is a Human Right! (Vermont Workers Center and the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals) Edmunds Middle School: No Layoffs! Fund our Schools! (Members of Vermont-NEA) City Market: Workers’ Lives Are Worth More! (UE Local 203) Handy's Property Rental: Food Not Rent! (Burlington Tenants Union) Vermont Department of Labor: Rebuild through a Green New Deal! (Vermont AFL-CIO) Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility: Free Them All! (Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington) Hannaford Supermarket: Solidarity with all Food Workers! Hannaford: Join Milk with Dignity! (Migrant Justice and Rural Vermont)

Interviews during the No Mas Polimigra demonstration outside Burlington's City Hall before the Burlington City Council Meeting and a demonstration during public comment period.

Farmworker Luis Ulloa, known to friends as Chiri, is in immigration detention after being turned over to Border Patrol by the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department.

On November 22nd, Chiri was heading from the farm to Burlington with his cousin and friends when his car was pulled over by Deputy Jeffry Turner. Even though Chiri was a passenger, Deputy Turner demanded to see his ID. When Chiri gave him a Mexican passport, Turner photographed it and radioed Border Patrol. He held everyone on the side of the interstate until agents arrived and detained Chiri.

Deputy Turner’s actions violate his own department’s “Fair and Impartial Policing” policy, which states that “members of the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department shall not initiate or prolong stops for the purpose of enforcing civil immigration matters, such as suspicion of undocumented status, nor shall they prolong stops for the purpose of allowing federal immigration authorities to conduct such investigation.”

We have fought hard over the years to pass law after law ensuring that every police agency in Vermont adopt Fair and Impartial Policing policies that protect the rights of immigrants. Now is the time to hold the police accountable!

Join us in front of the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday at 11am in an emergency rally to denounce this unjust detention and to demand accountability!
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Luis Ulloa, conocido como Chiri, se encuentra en detención de inmigración después de un oficial del departamento de sheriff del condado de Chittenden le entregó a la Patrulla Fronteriza.

El 22 noviembre, Chiri iba de su rancho a Burlington con su primo y amigas cuando el oficial Jeffry Turner paró su auto. Aunque Chiri no estaba manejando, Turner pidió ver su identificación. Cuando Chiri le entregó su pasaporte mexicano, Turner tomó una foto y llamó a la Patrulla Fronteriza. Detuvo a todxs en la carretera hasta que llegaran los agentes.

Las acciones del oficial violan la política de No Polimigra (FIPP por sus siglas en inglés) la cual declara: “oficiales del Departamento de Sheriff del Condado de Chittenden no son permitidos de detener o extender la detención de alguien por el propósito de hacer cumplir las leyes civiles de inmigración, tal como la sospecha de un estatus indocumentado, ni tampoco son permitidos de extender una detención para permitir la investigación del mismo por agentes federales de inmigración.”

Luchamos duro para aprobar múltiples leyes asegurando que cada agencia de policía en Vermont tenga políticas de No Polimigra que protejan los derechos de inmigrantes. Y ahora tenemos que responsabilizar a la policía por haberla violado.

Únete con nosotrxs en frente de las oficinas del sheriff de Chittenden el martes a las 11am para denunciar la detención injusta y para demandar consecuencias por el abuso de poder!