Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo. File photo by Morgan True/VTDigger
Following the presidential election, Mayor Miro Weinberger pledged to make Burlington a sanctuary city. The passage of the new city policy Monday night completes that effort.
“We will stay a community where all individuals can approach the police, no matter their immigration status, without fear of reprisals, and we will remain a community in which the Burlington police are fully empowered to keep this community a safe one,” Weinberger said.
President Donald Trump has called for cuts to federal funding for sanctuary jurisdictions.
In a recent memo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions defined sanctuary jurisdiction narrowly as any that “willfully” violate 8 U.S.C 1373.
That federal statute says state and local governments “may not prohibit, or in any way restrict” their employees from sending or receiving information regarding the citizenship or immigration status with their federal counterparts.
“We are not, based on that definition, going to fall into the category of sanctuary jurisdiction,” said City Attorney Eileen Blackwood.
Burlington’s policy treads that line by guiding its police and other employees not to ask about a person’s immigration status, while explicitly acknowledging that they can do nothing to prevent them from sharing that information with the feds if they happen to obtain it.
The policy directs police not to ask people their immigration status whether they’re a witness, victim or perpetrator of a crime. During police initiated pre-court processes, such as diversion, officers won’t use immigration status against a person or as criteria for arrest.
The policy was developed over the last six months through a series of public forums and has earned the support of advocacy groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont and Migrant Justice, which works with undocumented residents.
Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo said the policy won’t impact his officers ability to do ensure public safety or to collaborate with federal officials on criminal investigations.
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