老澳门开奖结果

In October 2017, Vermont-based Migrant Justice scored a major victory in the organization鈥檚 campaign to extend labor protections to undocumented farmworkers in the state. After years of public action and lobbying, they reached an that established basic labor standards at the farms supplying dairy products to the company. Those standards included one day off a week, a minimum wage of $10 per hour, and accommodations that included electricity and running water 鈥� a milestone for farmworkers鈥� rights in Vermont. For many Migrant Justice organizers, who were themselves undocumented and had worked long hours in those dairy farms, the victory was personal.

But while Migrant Justice鈥檚 organizers were celebrating their victory, according to by a coalition that includes the 老澳门开奖结果 of Vermont, Immigration and Customs Enforcement was carrying out a targeted operation to arrest and deport them. Using tactics that law enforcement agencies typically employ to disrupt organized crime, the lawsuit alleges that ICE agents planted at least one informant in Migrant Justice, attempted to hack into the email accounts of the group鈥檚 members, and compiled detailed dossiers on their movements and social circles.* And ICE had an eager partner in those efforts 鈥� the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles.

In 2013, Migrant Justice played a critical role in the passage of Vermont鈥檚 Driver Privilege Card law, which allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain legal driving permits. But a public-records request filed by the 老澳门开奖结果 revealed that DMV officials systematically passed the private information of applicants for those permits directly to ICE, even in cases where ICE agents hadn鈥檛 asked for it. Email correspondence obtained in the request show DMV workers using racist language to describe those applicants, referring to 鈥淪outh of the Border鈥� names and in one case lamenting that the state was being 鈥渙ver run by immigrants.鈥�

ICE agents used the information they obtained from the Vermont DMV to track down Migrant Justice organizers who鈥檇 played critical roles in the group鈥檚 labor rights campaigning. According to the lawsuit, since early 2016 at least 20 Migrant Justice members were arrested by ICE, including the four plaintiffs in the suit. ICE agents referenced the group鈥檚 activism during some of those arrests, warning that other Migrant Justice organizers would be 鈥渘ext.鈥� In other cases, agents indicated knowledge of the location and time of private meetings for Migrant Justice members that they could only have gained through intensive surveillance.

鈥淭he individuals in the complaint were targeted for political repression in retaliation for their constitutionally protected activity,鈥� said Lia Ernst, a staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果 of Vermont.

describes ICE agents tracking the movements of Migrant Justice organizers through a combination of surveillance operations, social media data mining, and DMV records. Leaders of the group were targeted since at least 2014, despite the Department of Homeland Security policy that supposedly prioritized enforcement against immigrants with serious criminal records. Two of the plaintiffs in the case, Enrique Balcazar Sanchez and Zully Palacios Rodriguez, were labeled 鈥渉igh-profile targets鈥� by ICE, despite having no criminal record of any kind. Both were highly visible activists in Migrant Justice鈥檚 campaign to organize farmworkers.

Migrant Justice says ICE鈥檚 coordinated targeting of the group鈥檚 organizers has done serious damage to its ability to continue advocating for migrant labor rights in the state.

鈥淚t鈥檚 had an undeniable chilling effect,鈥� said Will Lambek, an organizer with Migrant Justice. 鈥淧eople are legitimately scared that by speaking out for their rights and going to marches and assemblies, they鈥檙e going to be targeted. And it鈥檚 a founded fear that makes organizing incredibly difficult.鈥�

The lawsuit alleges that the Vermont DMV鈥檚 material support to ICE enforcement operations was motivated at least in part by 鈥渁nimus against Latinos and other non-white people.鈥� It describes DMV workers scheduling appointments with DPC applicants in order to facilitate their arrest by ICE agents and, in one case, asking ICE to investigate a group of people who 鈥渁ppeared Mexican.鈥� The suit claims that DMV workers flouted the terms of a 2016 settlement agreement with the state鈥檚 human rights commission over its prior discriminatory conduct and continuing to provide DPC application data to ICE agents, including records that were instrumental in the arrests of Migrant Justice organizers.

According to Lambek, the group鈥檚 record of success is precisely why its leaders have been targeted by ICE. 鈥淭hey have a grudge against us,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 like to see an immigrant community organizing successfully for their rights.鈥�

*CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, the original version of the piece stated that the informant rather than ICE agents tried to hack into Migrant Justice's email accounts. The error has been corrected.