I recently was invited to speak at a great event in support of CASAN, the Chittenden Asylum Seekers Assistance Network. Here are some of the words I shared on that wonderful evening of music and song in downtown Burlington.
Thank you also to CASAN for being such a force for good in these truly unprecedented times. As your webpage prominently states: you welcome new neighbors to Vermont. And we want new neighbors – new neighbors who add life, vibrancy and culture to our communities, who become part of our workforce and contribute in so many ways to our state.
I appreciate you highlighting some of the good work of the legislature the last few years. As we’ve seen cruel federal policies try to break up our communities and crush our hope, we’ve fought back. We’ve done the work of trying to protect those targeted by harmful executive orders and military-style build ups, with sound legislation that not only protects but also helps make life better for asylum seekers, immigrants, refugees and new americans. Many folks come to our state but can’t do the work they are trained to do, so we passed a bill that establishes a pathway to licensure for internationally trained physicians.
We saw the need for an Office of New Americans in state government, so we passed a bill to start that work, and we plan to continue the push for this office to become a reality in the coming session.
Perhaps most importantly, we saw the dangerous ICE raids happening around the country so we passed a state-wide sanctuary schools bill to protect children from being unlawfully removed from their schools and a prohibition on civil arrests in sensitive locations like churches, libraries and hospitals.
We know what folks like our next performer bring to our communities, and we want to ensure their right to a safe and prosperous life!