Members of the Vermont Senate will call on state DMV officials to testify after documents released by the ACLU show that the department colluded with ICE officials to identify undocumented immigrants who applied for driver’s licenses, which undocumented residents of the state are allowed to do under 2013 law. In at least one instance, the coordination led to deportation proceedings for one man:
The practice appears to have continued even after Vermont’s Human Rights Commission found that the DMV discriminated against a Jordanian national who was applying for a Drivers’ Privilege Card, a class of license that allows undocumented residents to legally drive in Vermont.
When Abdel Rababah, who had lived in the state for a decade, tried to apply for the card in late 2015, DMV officials were “openly hostile” to him and eventually contacted ICE, according to a statement from ACLU-VT. DMV officials then took the extraordinary step of calling a meeting with Rababah–ostensibly to talk about his application–where ICE officials ambushed and arrested him, which triggered deportation proceedings.
At the time, DMV Commissioner Robert Ide said department officials were still learning how the new law, which went into effect just weeks before Rababah applied, was supposed to work in practice and they didn’t mean him ill will.
The DMV later settled with the man for $40,000, “but, as the ACLU documents apparently show, the practice didn’t end. Vermont Governor Phil Scott said in a press conference that he would ‘rectify’ the issue.” Members of the State Senate also appear set to take action:
Senate Government Operations Committee chair Sen. Jeanette White said late Friday she wants to learn who was involved and if the department has enacted a policy allowing coordination between state and federal officials. White said the committee may consider new legislation to halt coordination if needed.
As Fusion notes, Montpelier became the third city in the state to enact a pro-immigrant “sanctuary” policy following Donald Trump’s election, which means that local resources will not be used to collude with ICE. But clearly, following the DMV’s actions, this doesn’t appear to be the case at all.