Heather Koontz
Religious leaders from various organizations around Vermont recently gathered outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center in Williston to share a communal message of disapproval.
About 20 clergy and representatives participated in the nonviolent demonstration on March 30, which called together leaders from Christian, Interfaith, and Unitarian Universalist denominations to declare unjust and inhumane actions within the facility.
According to a press release from the event, the demonstration featured song, prayer, and compassionate conversations with employees. Rev. Dr. Becca Girrell of the United Community Church of Morrisville was among the leaders present at the demonstration.
“In this sacred season, my faith insists that I bear witness to those who have suffered and died at the hands of state-sanctioned violence. Reading the names of those who have died in ICE detention or interaction, and singing a song of grief and lament, is a powerful reminder of the human cost of our actions,” Girrell said. “My hope is that those who work for and support ICE and their surveillance will be moved to compassion and justice.”
Federal Operation Adds to Heightened Tension
The ICE Center, located in the White Cap Business Park in South Burlington, is one of two national tip lines and ICE data centers. While a center in Santa Anna, Calif., operates for the West Coast, the Vermont version runs surveillance on the East Coast to help ICE officials target individuals for arrest. The organization analyzes data from publicly accessible sources, such as social media, to identify individuals for deportation in Vermont and across the country.
The center has been the target of numerous protests and demonstrations over the past few months. Activists spread a large banner reading “Ice Violates Rights Here” across the building in January, which was removed within hours. A few months before, a noise demonstration resulted in activists sounding car alarms every 90 seconds outside of the building.
Most recently, 11 protesters were arrested at the facility in February. Despite a nonviolent demonstration, they were detained for trespassing in the building’s atrium.
Amid escalating tensions, ICE operations in Vermont have come under even greater scrutiny after federal agents wrongfully detained three people in South Burlington. None of those arrested was named on the warrant, the result of a raid on Dorset Street in March.
Leaders Hope to Spark Change Through Compassion
At the March 30 gathering, religious leaders aimed to start a conversation with facility employees about their participation and futures in a peaceful, nonjudgemental way.
“Perhaps hearts were opened up so that different choices can be made. Or perhaps some employees may be caught in difficult choices and circumstances and need someone to listen. I was there to do that, and to call upon the presence of the holy to be in our midst,” Rev. Jessica Derise of United Church of Christ said.
Instead of approaching with criticism, the group hoped to open pathways for employees through understanding.
“I was there to connect with people, realizing that some have to face very challenging moral choices — feed the family or quit and look for work. I wanted to try to show folks as much compassion as we ask them to show others and to start a conversation,” Rev. Susan McMillan, Episcopal Deacon to Vermont Interfaith Action, said.
