Final Reading: Vermont Senate looks to bolster protections for kids whose parents face immigration enforcement

A bill moving through the Senate could make it easier for children whose parents are detained for alleged immigration offenses to be placed in the care of a trusted guardian — a proposal that legal advocates have backed as President Donald Trump’s administration has ramped up immigration enforcement in Vermont and across the country since he took office again.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning voted to combine S.95, which is the guardianship proposal, with H.98, a bill that passed the House in February aimed at expediting adoption procedures for parents who have a child using assisted reproduction and are already defined as parents under Vermont law. The committee approved the combined bill, which is numbered H.98, on a unanimous vote.

State law already allows guardianship proceedings to be streamlined in cases where a child’s parents become incapacitated or die, among other emergencies. But the bill would establish another fast-track process if a child’s parents are “subject to an adverse immigration action,” such as being taken into federal custody or deported from the country, the proposal states. 

The proposed guardianship process would be handled by state probate courts. Parents could make a guardian available preemptively or, in the event they are detained, have a lawyer initiate the process on their behalf. Without a legal guardian, kids whose parents are detained would likely be placed in the custody of the state’s Department for Children and Families.

Vermont Legal Aid already helps parents who don’t have legal status in the U.S. prepare emergency guardianship plans as a precautionary measure, the organization told senators this month — but supports H.98 because the bill would codify a similar process in state law.

Sen. Nader Hashim, D-Windham, who chairs Senate Judiciary, called the proposal “just one more step that we can take to mitigate the harm that’s happening to migrant families,” in an interview Wednesday afternoon. 

The other half of the bill, from what passed the House as H.98, would make it easier for parents to legally adopt a child they have through in vitro fertilization or other methods of assisted reproduction. The Senate committee didn’t make any changes to the language that the House had already approved. 

— Shaun Robinson

In the know

Gov. Phil Scott said Wednesday he’s not sure it would help people detained in Vermont by immigration authorities if the state stopped allowing federal immigration agencies to use its prisons — a move top Senate Democrats called for on Tuesday. 

“I get the frustration that people are feeling. People want to do something about what they see happening, not just in our state, but across the country,” Scott said at his weekly press conference. “But is that in the best interest of those who are being detained to just ship them off to somewhere else, Mississippi, Texas, wherever?”

Scott didn’t rule out changing or ending the state’s MOU with federal authorities when it expires in August, saying the decision would come down to “what’s in the best interests of those we’re trying to protect.”

Brett Stokes, director of the Center for Justice Reform Clinic at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, works with many people detained by immigration authorities in Vermont. He said that “in a perfect world,” he would support limiting or ending the state’s prison agreement with federal immigration agencies, but that’s not the present moment. 

“My focus right now is not on removing the bed space, because if I’m able to, I want to try to keep my clients as close as possible,” Stokes said in an interview Wednesday. “I think a lot of advocates are with me on this.”

Read more about views on ending the use of Vermont prisons by immigration authorities here. 

— Ethan Weinstein

Mike Smith, former Secretary of the Agency of Human Services and the Agency of Administration, will soon add a new title to his resume: Independent Liaison between the University of Vermont Health Network and the Green Mountain Care Board

That position was created by a settlement between the two entities that was finalized earlier this month. In that role, Smith will oversee consultants looking for ways to save money and improve efficiency within the UVM Health Network’s operations. 

The appointment, which was announced Tuesday, comes two months after Smith wrote a letter to Gov. Phil Scott decrying a “failure of leadership” at the health network, as executives took bonuses while cutting patient services. Smith will be able to hire two employees to assist him in the role, which could last up to 16 months.

— Peter D’Auria

Snap suit

The parents of two Vermont children have sued Snap Inc., which owns and operates Snapchat, accusing the social media company of aiding and abetting a man who allegedly sexually abused their daughters.

The lawsuit stems from a November 2020 incident in which Brandon Rhoades, then 24, allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted two Vermont girls, both of whom were 12 at the time. Rhoades was charged with five felonies in connection with the incident, and last year he was convicted of aggravated sexual assault against a victim under 13 years old after reaching a plea deal with the state.

The 88-page complaint against Snap and Rhoades now alleges that the company “facilitated, encouraged, and ensured the connection between Rhoades and the girls.” 

The case dovetails with Vermont lawmakers’ ongoing efforts to rein in social media platforms that advocates say prey on vulnerable teenagers. The story behind the lawsuit has served as a rallying cry for supporters of a bill known as the “Kids Code.”

The bill, which passed the Vermont Senate last month, would require social media companies to adjust algorithms and privacy settings for users under 18. 

Read more about the civil lawsuit against Snapchat here.

— Habib Sabet

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