Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak signed an executive order Tuesday outlining Burlington’s plans if there’s an escalation of federal immigration enforcement in the city.
The order directs the city to review its emergency management plans, including establishing lines of communication with neighboring towns, the school district and the public. City employees will also be trained on how to respond if federal agents enter a city facility.
“There is no indication at this time that federal law enforcement activity is increasing here in the city of Burlington, but leadership requires preparation, not reaction,” Mulvaney-Stanak said at a press conference Tuesday. “This executive order ensures that if circumstances change, Burlington will respond in a way that is calm, lawful, transparent and grounded in our values.”
The order reiterates that, per the state’s fair and impartial policing policy, the Burlington police officers will not help with civil immigration enforcement. The order states that Burlington police will not “impede lawful federal operations,” but must respond to the scene of civil immigration enforcement to document events and ensure that medical care is provided to anyone who is injured.
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“If credible reports of unlawful conduct arise, those reports will be documented, preserved and referred directly to me as the mayor and also to our state's attorney,” Mulvaney-Stanak said.
Burlington police officers should always be in their official department uniforms and must provide their name and badge number if asked, Mulvaney-Stanak said.
Advocates have already documented a steep increase in immigration-related arrests over the past year, but Mulvaney-Stanak’s administration in recent weeks has been preparing the city in case there’s a drastic surge of enforcement activity, similar to what happened in Minneapolis and Maine.
Burlington’s preparations come after the Vermont Senate last week advanced two bills meant to address how federal immigration agents operate in Vermont.
One would ban all law enforcement — local, state, and federal — from wearing masks in public and require them to display their name or badge number and agency on their uniform. The other bill would bar civil arrests at “sensitive locations” like government buildings, schools and health care facilities.
The House will now take up both bills.
