Vermont's full congressional delegation — Rep. Peter Welch and Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders — issued a joint statement objecting to the U.S. Border Patrol's plan to operate checkpoints deep within the state of Vermont, potentially up to 100 miles from the Canadian border.
Exactly where these checkpoints would be located is so far unclear, but the delegation argues they would "cause needless delays for travelers and hinder commerce between Vermont and Canada" and that "they appear to be another escalation of the Trump Administration’s aggressive yet wasteful use of immigration enforcement resources."
Rep. Welch told VPR's John Dillon that the checkpoints raise a number of concerns:
"This is a Trump Administration edict where essentially in 90 percent of our state anybody for any reason could be pulled over because of the Trump Administration’s politicization of ICE. There’s better ways, more efficient ways, less expensive ways and constitutionally responsible ways to protect our borders."
Seven Days staff writer Mark Davis joined Vermont Edition to talk about the preemptive response from the delegation and what is known about the plan itself.
Broadcast live on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
