Urge the Vermont House Judiciary Committee to provide legal support to ICE detainees
More than 900 people have been detained by ICE in Vermont prisons since January 2025. Detainees who have counsel are four times more likely to win release than those without counsel. Good news: House bill H.742 provides legal assistance to persons detained in Vermont in connection with federal immigration proceedings. Bad news: The House Judiciary Committee hasn't taken action. They need to vote it out of committee soon for it to pass this year. Here's a sample to inspire you:
Re: H.742
Dear [Rep. _______________],
I'm writing to ask that the House Judiciary Committee take action as soon as possible on the bill to provide Legal Aid to ICE detainees. The continued abuse of our neighbors must stop and providing legal representation is key. Please move the bill out of committee with a favorable recommendation. Thanks for all your hard work.
[Your name]
[Town]
These committee members are from Chittenden County:
Martin LaLonde | mlalonde@leg.state.vt.us
Barbara Rachelson | brachelson@leg.state.vt.us
Angela Arsenault | aarsenault@leg.state.vt.us
Karen Dolan | kndolan@leg.state.vt.us
Civil Rights Lobby Day
Friday, February 20th | 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Vermont State Capitol | 115 State Street, Montpelier
Join us and our friends from the ACLU as we lobby the legislature to protect Democracy. This immersive day will include
- Information on how a bill becomes a law in Vermont, with an introduction to lobbying
- How to share your story with legislators
- A tour of the Vermont statehouse
- Opportunities to attend committee meetings and a Senate floor hearing
- Lunch with ACLU-VT staff and legislators
Sign up here.
Immigration & Federal Overreach Discussion
Monday, February 23, 2026 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM ET
Fletcher Free Library | 235 College St, Burlington, VT 05401
Join Senator Vyhovsky, Senator White, Representative Dodge, Representative Kleppner, and others for a discussion about current immigration legislation, opportunities to take action, and the challenges of navigating federal overreach in Vermont. Moderated by VPIRG. Questions? jheiden@vpirg.org
Sarah Copeland Hanzas on Election Security
Thursday, February 26 | 5:00-6:30pm
On line video | Register here.
Join Vermont Indivisible leaders, group members, grassroots activists, and community partners for our next statewide call. Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas will join this month’s call for a Q&A on election security and voting protection.
Legislative Update
In addition to H.742, we're following these bills:
H.208 - Data privacy and online surveillance. (Not to be confused with S.208 - Law Enforcement Identification).
Assigned to the House Committee on Commerce. No action taken yet.
The key issue is whether consumers will have to actively opt out to get protections or whether businesses will need to get your permission to use your data. How does this connect to Democracy? Right now, the Federal Government is buying data about Americans from data brokers to support online surveillance and harass Trump's enemies.
S.208 - No Secret Police - Police must show identification; no masks.
Passed by the Senate and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
S.209 - An act prohibiting civil arrest in sensitive locations
Passed by the Senate.
Thanks to your help, we're making progress!
Save the date: NO KINGS DAY is Saturday March 28
Get ready to march! Get ready to rally! We're working with others around the state and the country to make this the biggest peaceful day of protest ever! Wanna help? We need marshals to assist marchers along the route. It's fun, makes the march safer, and supports our community. No experience necessary - we will train you! Email: QCVIMarshals@gmail.com
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