History of Vermont Refugee Assistance & Vermont Immigration Project
The Vermont Immigration Project was created to serve those who are detained in jails in Vermont and upstate New York because of immigration issues. (See our FAQ for an explanation of why people are detained). In recent years, detention has become more common, even for fairly minor violations of immigration policy.
Some of the effects of the increased enforcement and monitoring that we have witnessed in Vermont are the detention of undocumented workers from remote dairy and tree farms and the setting of inordinately high bonds. There are frequent reports that certain people are being asked to show some identification as they disembark at the Burlington bus station. Detainees originally from Middle Eastern countries are being interviewed by the FBI. There is a much higher bar set for the release of indefinite detainees as called for by the Supreme Court decision in Zadvydas in June 2001.
Franklin County jail in St. Albans often serves as a feeder jail to a larger facility, currently a prison in Hartford, Connecticut. We will be able to send intakes for asylum seekers and other vulnerable groups to a legal service provider that works in that facility. VRA has established a conference/law library in the Franklin County jail, and works with detainees to advise them of their rights.
