MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A public records battle continues to brew over whether a Vermont sheriff is illegally coordinating with federal immigration officials. Now, the ACLU case against the Essex County sheriff is taking on new significance with the incoming Trump administration’s promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants.
In an interview with a University of Vermont student-run news service last year, Essex County Sheriff Trevor Colby said he would likely call federal officials if he believed a suspect in a traffic stop was here illegally.
“We became aware of reporting that was attributed to Sheriff Colby that caused us real concerns,” said the ACLU of Vermont’s Lia Ernst. She says the concern is that Colby is violating Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing policy which prevents police from acting based on someone’s immigration status.
The ACLU requested 50 pages of emails between the sheriff and federal officials and took Colby to court when he refused to send the copies. Colby said the ACLU could inspect the records at his Guildhall office.
“There is no requirement for public agencies to copy and send things to people if they don’t want to,” said Pietro Lynn, a lawyer for the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.
However, the ACLU contends the Legislature intended for anyone to view the records. “For folks who cannot travel to go to the agency and pick up the records it just means they can’t exercise their rights under the Public Records Act,” Ernst said.
The lawsuit comes amid a surge in migrants over the northern border and federal law enforcement struggling to keep up, something that Ernst is concerned will put even more pressure on local authorities following Donald Trump’s election. “These records have become critically more important because of the outcome of the election,” Ernst said. “In order for them to be successful, they would need local law enforcement to be eager participants in their mass deportation apparatus.”
Sheriff Colby’s legal team did not address concerns from the ACLU that they may be coordinating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or that state and federal laws are in conflict.
Tuesday’s hearing in Washington County Superior Court in Montpelier centered around whether the judge should dismiss the ACLU case. There’s no word yet on when he may make a ruling.