Vermont Asylum Assistance Project exists to raise Vermont noncitizens’ awareness of and access to critical immigration legal help and support. We achieve our mission through statewide direct service delivery, pro bono coordination, technical assistance, community education, and administrative and legislative advocacy. Serving as a bridge between immigrant service providers and regulators across the state and region, VAAP educates the public on immigration issues and advocates for policies and practices that advance immigrants’ rights.

We envision a future Vermont where all noncitizens are aware of and enjoy equitable access to their immigration and related legal rights, and where all foreign-born individuals and mixed status families experience equity, inclusion, and belonging regardless of arrival circumstances or status.

VAAP’s team of attorneys and paralegal advocates offer Vermont immigration communities the following services:

• Direct representation: Represent “unaccompanied children” in removal proceedings; represent Afghans to regularize their status and defend against removal; provide limited assistance to individuals to file their initial humanitarian immigration applications; and advise unrepresented humanitarian status immigration applicants on how to help themselves.

• Education: Help Vermont immigrants and community members access reliable legal information self-help resources.

• Technical assistance: Advise attorneys and advocates who offer free humanitarian immigration legal services.

• Coordination: Connect service providers, policymakers, status-seekers, and pro bono legal workers across Vermont.

• Advocacy: Advocate across all branches of government for policies at the local, state, and national levels that protect and promote immigrants’ rights.

Since incorporating in December 2023 and establishing our North St, Burlington office in January 2024, our staff of now-four has prioritized harm-reducing “unbundled” service delivery, equitable and sustainable growth of a diverse team, and advocacy for the rights of all immigrants regardless of status or arrival circumstances.

Developing our services. Through the lens of harm reduction, we focus on connecting as many people as possible to a minimum level of legal service needed to set their cases and claims up for success. Access to Justice advocates refer to this approach as “unbundled services.” Read more about this approach here. Most of our legal work involves providing limited assistance and advice on asylum and related humanitarian matters, with a growing capacity to offer extended representation in-house. We are overwhelmed with requests for help and are doing our best to timely respond to requests in the order in which we receive them and according to legal urgency. While you wait to hear from us, you should continue trying to find other legal help and, if you are comfortable, start working on your case yourself. Be sure to continue attending all your government appointments and immigration court dates, and be aware you must submit your asylum application before the one-year anniversary of your most recent entry to the United States.

Growing our staff. VAAP welcomed our first paid advocate in January 2024, our second paid advocate in May 2024, and Vermont's first two Immigrant Justice Corps Fellows in September 2024. We are hosting our first-ever summer internship program from late May through the end of July 2024, and then will welcome our first Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow in September 2024. We want to grow our staff in ways that are organized, sustainable, and consistent with our values. To prioritize workplace equity and inclusion for diverse staff who reflect the communities we serve, we have to balance our time between service delivery and program development. We thank you in advance for your patience and support for our initial growth period!

Sharing learning. We are learning alongside all of you as we work to deliver and build our program each day. Sign up for our newsletters, follow us on social media, and keep an eye on our website to stay updated on our advocacy efforts and educational events. Our educational activities include individualized consultations with legal and lay advocates working actively on cases; regular case rounds for group-based case and strategy discussions; regular training and continuing legal education in-house and in partnership with organizations like the Vermont Bar Association. Follow us and join in, or reach out to request educational activities on particular topics or for particular audiences.

We want to hear from you! Please get in touch to share feedback, introductions, resources, or requests.

The number of people seeking asylum in the U.S. has nearly quintupled over the past decade. Without legal counsel, asylum seekers face enormous challenges in obtaining work authorization and meeting basic needs. They are also three to five times more likely to be denied asylum and deported, often to life-threatening situations.

In Vermont, the number of asylum seekers has risen sharply in recent years, but the state’s capacity for legal and advocacy support has not kept up. With one of the lowest attorney-to-population ratios in the country, Vermont struggles to provide asylum seekers with the legal representation they need, whether paid or pro bono.

In response, community-based organizations have stepped up to fill the gap. One example is the Community Asylum Seekers Project, which became VAAP’s first fiscal sponsor in 2016. VAAP builds on our partners’ on-the-ground expertise by combining it with strong legal connections. Together, we create a statewide resource center to train, mentor, and support attorneys and advocates while connecting them with asylum seekers who need help. Vermont is now home to a growing number of people seeking safety from countries like Haiti, the Northern Triangle, the African continent, and Afghanistan.

As an independent 501(c)(3), VAAP aims to expand this network of legal support. By leveraging our partners’ resources and expertise, we can provide hundreds more people with fair access to the legal system, the regulated economy, safe social inclusion, and the chance to live with dignity.