Building a Firewall for Freedom

Vermont has some of the strongest protections for civil rights and civil liberties in the country, but there is more we must do to counter those who seek to turn back the clock on the progress we have made together.

President Trump has targeted immigrants since day one of his administration, including his unconstitutional executive orders banning birthright citizenship and asylum at the southern border. Similarly, Congress has unjustly targeted immigrants through the Laken Riley Act. We are urging Vermont lawmakers to impose stronger restrictions on the use of state and local resources to aid in federal immigration actions. This includes strengthening existing non-cooperation policies such as the Fair and Impartial Policing policy.

The Trump administration has already attempted to redefine Title IX in an effort to reinstate discrimination based on sex and sex stereotypes. In addition to their efforts to end gender-affirming health care for transgender youth nationwide, Trump and his allies have promised to rollback protections for abortion care--maneuvers that threaten our freedom to determine our own life course and are in direct opposition to Vermont's Reproductive Liberty Amendment.

We urge state leaders to continue to follow state laws that protect access to health care and full participation in schools for all, and to backfill any funding the federal government seeks to withhold from school districts and medical providers who refuse to enable this kind of unlawful discrimination.

The Trump administration’s three executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives take a “shock and awe” approach that upends longstanding, bipartisan federal policy meant to open doors that had historically been unfairly closed. We must resist efforts to weaponize civil rights laws that address discrimination and ensure everyone has a fair chance to compete, whether it’s for a job, a promotion, or an education.