by Kolby LaMarche

Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak broke her silence late Thursday evening on the ICE raid, calling for an investigation, and turning online comments off. 

Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak broke her silence late Thursday evening on the South Burlington ICE raid, condemning federal agents for “instruments of terror” while mounting a careful defense of Burlington police officers’ role in the daylong standoff that left protesters injured and trust in City Hall badly shaken.

The statement—more than 600 words, released via email and posted to official city channels with comments disabled—arrives as residents flood advocacy channels with complaints, videos of alleged excessive force, and demands for answers about why Burlington officers were deployed to a neighboring city’s federal operation. 

City officials have quietly removed dozens of critical comments from the mayor’s official Facebook page and disabled comments on a number of posts – including her statement. 

Mulvaney-Stanak described the March 11 ICE actions as “deeply disturbing,” pointing to the high-speed chase down Dorset Street during morning rush hour, the raid on a private home, the detention of three immigrant Vermonters unrelated to the primary target, and violent clashes with protesters that included tear gas and pepper spray. 

She aligned herself with Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George in calling for a formal U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation into federal conduct.

Yet the bulk of her remarks focused on explaining—and defending—the Burlington Police Department’s involvement. 

Officers responded, she said, only after South Burlington requested mutual aid as crowds grew to hundreds and the scene turned volatile. 

Without local police on site, the mayor warned, the situation could have spiraled into the kind of unchecked escalation seen in Minneapolis during past ICE engagements, where absent municipal support reportedly contributed to extreme violence and civilian deaths. 

Mulvaney-Stanak acknowledged the “impossible scenarios” local law enforcement faces: legally barred from interfering with valid federal immigration enforcement, yet duty-bound to intervene in cases of assault, excessive force, or imminent harm. 

She praised officers for their professionalism under pressure and confirmed their full compliance with her Executive Order 2026-1, which requires on-site contact with ICE supervisors, body-camera activation, evidence preservation, and reporting of any apparent state-law violations.

Additionally, Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak announced the start of a use-of-force investigation against Officer Julian Gonzalez, accused by many residents of too forcefully pushing protesters. 

The Progressive caucus released a statement Thursday night endorsing much of what the mayor said in her statement, adding “This is the type of action we expect from a dictatorship, not the United States of America.”   

Those details have done little to quiet the storm, however. 

Many online, in numerous forums, and one protester who spoke to BDN, shared their disappointment in Mulvaney-Stanak’s response, with some promising to organize and show-up to the mayor’s community meet-ups. “Make her a one-termer,” one resident wrote. 

Migrant Justice and other groups that helped organize the protest continue to frame the three detentions as collateral damage in a botched manhunt. 

Online petitions target the Police Commission with calls for discipline, while residents question the wisdom—and optics—of diverting Burlington resources to support federal immigration enforcement in any capacity.

Governor Phil Scott issued a sharp rebuke just hours before Mulvaney-Stanak’s, accusing ICE of a “lack of training, coordination, leadership, and outdated tactics,” placing both protesters and local officers in unnecessary danger, he argued. 

Legislative leaders and Vermont’s federal delegation echoed demands for accountability and stronger warrant standards. 

Mulvaney-Stanak said she is already in touch with South Burlington counterparts to review the incident, will examine all body-camera footage, preserve evidence for investigations, and press federal authorities for procedural reforms.

Burlington Democrats have not yet released a statement. You can read Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak’s full statement here. 

Editor’s Note: Hours before Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak’s statement, BDN sent in a request for comment, as likely other outlets did. 

And while we can’t speak for them, we didn’t receive a response this time. Or even a press release, or an email to the general “residents” list. Instead, the mayor chose to post her statement, graphically designed, to social media, before disabling the comments.

BDN believes in transparency and, most importantly, in the right of the public to scrutinize or celebrate their leaders, online or in-person. When comments are shut down, that is why outlets, platforms, like BDN exist.