By Guy Page
CANAAN — Essex County Sheriff Trevor Colby is challenging parts of Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing (FIP) policy, saying the state’s restrictions on communication with federal immigration authorities are illegal and undermine public safety in his rural, border county.
The FIP rules, first mandated in 2017 after the election of Donald Trump, limit state, county, and local police from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Border Patrol. The Legislature in 2017 directed the Vermont Criminal Justice Council (VCJC) to draft and enforce the policy, which all agencies are required to adopt.
Colby, who oversees a 10-deputy department, says the rules simply don’t work in Essex County, where federal officers are often the only backup available.
“Border Patrol is our primary law enforcement agency in a domestic response,” Colby said. “The nearest state police barracks serving Canaan is in Derby, an hour away. If there’s a crash or a violent domestic call, Border Patrol stabilizes the scene until we can get there. This policy makes that harder.”
Colby has submitted a draft revision of the FIP to the Council, requesting more flexibility for Vermont officers. His first attempt was rejected, but he said conversations with a new VCJC counsel have reopened the discussion. Despite media reports to the contrary, he has no interest in pursuing litigation against the VCJC, he said.
“The policy specifically states we can’t have more communication with immigration officials than is allowed,” Colby said. “That’s interfering with our rights to communicate with Border Patrol, which I believe violates federal law. They’ve gone too far.”
Colby stressed that his department is not seeking to enforce immigration laws directly. “We are not going out and looking for people who are undocumented,” he said. “But if I’m driving along and there’s a criminal violation of federal law, I don’t want to risk getting jammed up just because of this policy.”
He also voiced concerns about how much power the Council now wields. “They make the policies, they monitor their enforcement,” and they can decertify officers, he said. Colby said the FIP reflects the nation’s wide disagreement over immigration: “I really feel like the political divide in our country has come down to regulating law enforcement.”
At the same time, Colby said not all of the Council’s work has been negative. He praised portions of its diversity and cultural awareness training. “We’re really not a diverse state, but I do think some of the training is beneficial,” he said. “There have been elements that help officers better understand different cultures. We’re at least having some conversations.”Essex County is the least-populated county in Vermont and the heart of the ‘Northeast Kingdom.’ The sheriff’s office is located in Guildhall. Essex County state’s attorney Vince Illuzzi is scheduled to speak about law enforcement in his county at 11:20 AM today on the VDC public affairs program ‘Hot Off The Press’ on WDEV.