A border marker east of Richford. File photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
As state officials and lawmakers advance legislation to curb the role of local and
state police in federal civil immigration enforcement, many are concerned with preserving cooperation between state and federal authorities on enforcing the international border with Canada.
Some say partnerships, like Operation Stonegarden, between Vermont and federal law enforcement are key to maintaining security in parts of the state.
Others say the police program along the border can be problematic.
Operation Stonegarden is a grant program distributed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It funds local and state police officers to work shifts along the border.
There are some 300 Border Patrol agents based in Swanton who are charged with monitoring and enforcing 295 miles of border, stretching all the way from upstate New York to the border between New Hampshire and Maine.
And those agents could use some help.
In the last federal fiscal year, Vermont agencies received a total of $250,498 in grants through Operation Stonegarden. Some paid for officers’ shifts, others for equipment.
Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Tom Anderson said Operation Stonegarden provides additional “eyes and ears on the border.”
Anderson, a former U.S. attorney for Vermont, said the police program is focused on security. The scope of Operation Stonegarden is narrow and entirely separate from the types of contracts with the federal government that the state legislation addresses. S.79 gives the governor the sole authority to block contracts with the federal government that deputize police to enforce civil immigration law, he said.
Tom Anderson, the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. File photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger
“They’re very, very different programs,” Anderson said.
The legislation pushed by Gov. Phil Scott and Attorney General TJ Donovan would require Scott’s approval on agreements where state and local police are asked to assist federal immigration authorities on certain enforcement efforts.
In those arrangements, local and state police report to federal authorities; in the Stonegarden program, officers report directly to their supervisors, according to Assistant Attorney General Julio Thompson.
Anderson said Operation Stonegarden is focused on curbing serious criminal behavior along the border — not enforcing immigration law.
Stonegarden aims to put additional law enforcement near the border to thwart cross-border criminal activity, such as human trafficking, drug smuggling or terrorist activity, Anderson said. The focus is “border-centered, not immigration-centered,” he said.
Anderson said the state has an “independent and significant interest” in protecting border communities from criminal activity.
“Partnering with the Border Patrol to detect and prevent cross-border criminal activity enhances our ability to keep Vermonters safe,” Anderson said. “Thus, state law enforcement should and will continue its long-standing and effective work with U.S. Border Patrol in a capacity consistent with their state and local responsibilities.”
Who participates
Three sheriffs departments in Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties received grants through the program. Statewide agencies involved last year include the Vermont State Police and the Department of Liquor Control.
Newport was the only municipal police department to participate in federal fiscal year 2016, though Canaan, Williston, Swanton and Stowe have all participated to some extent over the past five years.
Sgt. Charles Moulton of the Newport Police Department said Operation Stonegarden helps the city, located just a few miles from the boundary, collaborate with federal authorities to secure the border.
“It gives us the ability to be able to work with them to combat the issues that Border Patrol deals with on a daily basis,” Moulton said.
Lake Memphremagog, just off Newport, is popular for ice fishing. File photo by Dirk Van Susteren
The program has been beneficial to the city in material ways, he said. Through Operation Stonegarden, the department purchased a boat for patrols on Lake Memphremagog — an international waterway that stretches more than 30 miles north to Magog in southern Quebec.
Moulton said the city’s position so close to the border may mean the community is at risk of criminal activity that is not a major concern in areas farther away.
“You may have somebody who wants to get across because they want the American dream,” Moulton said. “You may have somebody that has ill intention.”
The city uses that boat on Operation Stonegarden missions but is free to use it for regular police business as well, he said. More recently, the department was able to buy two snow machines.
To participate in Stonegarden shifts, officers need to first complete a special training program. When an opportunity for a shift comes up, Newport officers might be asked to station themselves in areas where there tends to be a high level of cross-border traffic, such as Derby Line, he said.
In some cases, when federal authorities have information indicating there is likely to be illegal activity on the lake, Newport officers are stationed in the boat.
If it appears that a federal crime has been committed — for instance, if they see someone walk across the border — they would detain that person until Border Patrol responds, Moulton said.
The Newport Police Department does have a policy on fair and impartial policing that restricts officers from detaining somebody based on suspicions about their immigration status, Moulton said. However, there is a section in the policy that exempts activity during Stonegarden operations, he said.
That same exception also holds in a statewide model policy on fair and impartial policing that was agreed upon last year.
Some concerned about overreach
Jay Diaz, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, said “there’s a lot to be concerned about” with Operation Stonegarden.
Diaz said that law enforcement agencies are conducting routine work like speeding enforcement while on Operation Stonegarden shifts, they are available to help federal authorities.
“The idea that you’re going to be watching the border inherently requires local law enforcement who receive these funds to think of themselves as doing immigration work,” Diaz said.
Jay Diaz is a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont.
Another issue, Diaz said, is “a complete lack of accountability when it comes to these funding sources.”
“We don’t know if these funds are being misused, if they’re being used to just raise salaries,” he said.
David Sleigh, a prominent criminal defense attorney based in St. Johnsbury, said the program is one element of a broader escalation of enforcement around the border over the last several years.
“Operation Stonegarden is part of a general and dramatic change in character of how the border is regarded by people who live in the border communities here,” Sleigh said.
The initiation of the program brought an influx of law enforcement from all over the state to the northern area, he said. But, Sleigh said, he is not aware of there being much cross-border criminal activity.
“By and large the Canadian border being what it is, they don’t have a lot to do,” he said.
As a result of the program, the small border communities are faced with a high number of police per capita, he said.
Franklin County Sheriff Robert Norris, whose department participates in Operation Stonegarden, said the program is simply focused on securing the international border.
“Who would have a problem with protecting anybody’s home from transnational criminal organizations?” Norris said.
Norris said the department has a policy on fair and impartial policing, which also includes the section in the model policy allowing some exemption for Operation Stonegarden enforcement.
“If we’re up on the border and we see an individual walking across the border into Vermont, of course we’re going to stop and question them as to who, what, where and why,” Norris said.
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