A year ago, Vermont had two lawyers in the entire state who specialized in deportation defense. Thousands of immigrants facing ICE detention and deportation had no one in their corner — because federal law does not require the government to provide lawyers in civil immigration cases.

So Vermonters did something remarkable. Through the Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund, donors from across the state — and more than 30 others — raised $1 million in one year. Today Vermont has eight deportation defense lawyers instead of two. The Vermont Asylum Assistance Project has doubled its capacity. Nine temporary restraining orders have been secured for people detained in Vermont prisons by ICE. One hundred and thirty detainees have been screened. New staff have been hired. Families have been kept together.

But that fund is now closed. The emergency fundraising is done. And the emergency has not ended.

More than 1,000 immigration cases remain pending in Vermont. ICE operations have not slowed. Without sustained state funding, the lawyers hired, the capacity built, and the progress made over the past year could unravel — and Vermont would be back where it started, with two lawyers and thousands of people facing federal court alone.

Vermont should never have to pass the hat to protect people's basic right to legal representation. This is a function of government — not charity.

We're calling on the Vermont Legislature to create a permanent state budget line for immigration legal defense so that Vermont never has to run an emergency fundraising campaign again and no person facing deportation in this state ever faces federal court alone.