VAAP Testifies in Ozturk V. Trump
VAAP was glad to be able to testify this week and share local context for the abnormal circumstances surrounding Ms. Ozturk's immigration custody by ICE.
Here, the government illegally detained Ms. Ozturk and swiftly removed her from her Massachusetts community to a series of locations including an inappropriate custodial setting in Vermont. The government had no discernible reason for moving Ms. Ozturk except to limit her access to counsel, a structural barrier to justice that VAAP's other detained clients are facing as well. We agree the District of Vermont has personal jurisdiction here resulting from the government's own choice to illegally detain and remove Ms. Ozturk to Vermont.
Vermont has an outsized DHS and military presence, and resource-constrained accountability organizations like VAAP, and risks being used as a black box for unlawful detentions like that experienced by Ms. Ozturk. We are grateful Ms. Ozturk's case will not be senselessly relocated to Louisiana as a result of the government's efforts to limit her access to justice.
We hope her story shines a light on the government's current pattern and practice of relocating New England detainees to far-flung custodial settings in hostile jurisdictions for the purpose of isolating them from family, limiting their access to counsel, and manipulating them into signing away their immigration rights and remedies.
We would like to highlight the movement of the H.298 and S.44 bills, which propose feasible solutions for cases such as Ozturk’s. H.298 would establish boundaries between law enforcement and DHS, prohibiting the use of systems that automatically share data with ICE or CBP, such as biometrics and jail records. It would restrict the disclosure of personal information, and create enforceability. H.298 would further prevent agencies from detaining or transferring people to ICE custody absent a judicial warrant.
S.44, broadly speaking, would introduce checks and balances on Vermont’s agencies’ power to make agreements with federal agencies on immigration matters. This bill would create protective boundaries as well, in this case between Vermont and federal immigration enforcement. S.44 would defend immigrant communities, allowing them to seek emergency protection and ultimately obtain a sense of safety within Vermont.
Listed below is the link to the affidavit, as well as some media coverage surrounding the issues brought to fruition through her case:
