Winooski leads safe schools efforts
New protocols put in place due to growing concerns over ICE enforcement in Vermont
Charlotte Hancox of NBC 5; Updated: 7:32 PM EST Feb 3, 2025. “Immigration enforcement policies are raising concerns in Vermont, prompting responses from schools and advocacy groups.”
WINOOSKI, Vt. — “Immigration enforcement policies are raising concerns in Vermont, prompting responses from schools and advocacy groups.
“At Winooski schools, administrators have released a 25-page guide detailing step-by-step procedures regarding immigration enforcement.
“The superintendent said the district is focusing on training staff, communicating with families, and establishing a centralized information center to help stop misinformation and fear.
““We released those last Friday, and this week is all about training. We're training our staff. We're training our teachers. We're providing communication to our students, to our families," Wilmer Chavarria, superintendent of the Winooski School District said. "We're gathering every day at 3 p.m. on what we're calling a 10-day daily check-in with anybody. And everybody who wants to come, including the community. We're doing that in the library.”
“One of the biggest fears among immigrant families is what would happen if Immigration and Customs Enforcement entered a school building. Although federal guidelines once designated schools as sensitive locations where enforcement actions were limited, some of those protections have been rescinded.
““We know that rules have been rescinded or procedures at the national level have been rescinded. That formerly protected, sensitive spaces like schools, we know that we don't have some of those protections anymore," Chavarria said. "So, in the unlikely case that that were to happen, then staff and teachers want to know what they are supposed to do.”
““The Winooski school is putting up signs in every classroom to share who is authorized in the room to protect them and give them better legal grounds.
““The fear is to control the cheap labor force, right?" said Marita Canedo, program coordinator with Migrant Justice. "So what we think is going to happen, it's like people are going to feel that they have to hide again, and that's why we're continuously teaching people know your rights. Not only to immigrants but also to citizens.”
“For many families, the biggest concern isn’t just what happens inside the schools but what happens when students leave them.
““We have heard from some staff members that they have heard from students, that they are indeed afraid to walk home. So we are trying to put things in place to maybe accompany those students home, find resources for them to maybe provide transportation," said Chavarria. "All of that is happening so fast, but we are attuned to those needs, and we're allocating resources for all of that.”
“While no Vermont schools have reported ICE attempting to enter their buildings, Chavarria worries that the fear alone could drive students away from the classroom.
“Small businesses in Vermont will be able to have their questions answered this week about their rights and responsibilities if a federal immigration enforcement agent comes to their workplace to check on an employee's immigration status.
“The Treasurer's Task Force on the Federal Transition, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility will hold a webinar on Feb. 6 starting at 11 a.m. called "Immigration & ICE: Rights, Responsibilities, and Support for Vermont Businesses and Non-Profits."
You can register for the webinar on VBSR's website.
“Treasurer Mike Pieciak, D-Vermont, formed the Treasurer's Task Force on the Federal Transition to study economic changes and impacts that could come from the new Trump Administration. The group is made up of business leaders, community groups, policy experts, and others.
“"We want to be focused on how do we protect Vermonters as best we can," Pieciak said, emphasizing preparedness as his main motivator in launching the task force.
“The co-chair of the task force, Sue Minter, said she and her colleagues want to be able to prepare for a wide range of ways federal policy changes would impact Vermont. The task force wants to be able to make policy recommendations to state and federal leaders and provide information to people across the state, Minter and Pieciak said.
“"We know that our state is really needing more labor, more workforce," Minter said in an interview with NBC5 News, providing one example of what the task force is paying attention to. "So the threat of potential deportations and what that does for our workforce."
“Minter went on to provide another example of economic impacts the task force is monitoring.
“"With respect to the tariffs, how that affects housing production--a top priority of this governor and beyond," Minter said. "And those inputs like steel and wood from Canada escalating so dramatically, potentially, really will have a really long impact for decades to come, potentially."“
Read VAAP’s original blog post about Sanctuary Schools movements here.
