Race & Identity

The Vermont state senator who’s been under pressure to resign since revelations surfaced this week of his participation in a racist group chat announced Friday evening that he’s leaving public office.

The group Migrant Justice said the enforcement action is unlike anything Vermont has seen since the Trump administration launched its mass deportation campaign in January.

Racial justice advocates are questioning the Scott administration’s commitment to bias-free policing after the firing last week of an official at the Vermont Department of Public Safety.

Economic officials and immigrant advocates are urging lawmakers to consider bolstering supports for the 30,000 foreign-born Vermonters that make up a growing share of the state’s workforce.

Republican Gov. Phil Scott says prohibiting federal immigration authorities from using state-owned prisons to lodge detainees could end up hurting the immigrants that Democratic lawmakers are trying to protect.

After the high-profile arrest of a Vermont resident in Colchester on Monday, Democratic leaders in the Vermont Senate are asking Republican Gov. Phil Scott to terminate a memorandum that allows federal immigration authorities to lodge detainees in state prisons.

Two Champlain Valley Union High School students from Nicaragua are preparing to leave the United States after the Department of Homeland Security terminated the immigration program that had allowed them to reside in Vermont legally, according to school officials.

Outright Vermont is urging state lawmakers to safeguard the rights of youth in Vermont as the Trump administration seeks to rollback protections for LGBTQ+ Americans.

The Vermont Asylum Assistance Project furloughed two legal fellows and closed intake for new cases after an order by the Trump administration cut off a key source of federal funding for the nonprofit.

Legislation approved by the House Tuesday would allow prosecutors to pursue hate crime penalties even when the direct victim of an offense isn't a member of a protected class.