Luneau, a Republican, said Vermonters deserve to know whether individuals held in state-run facilities are being detained by federal agencies and why

By Guy Page

A Vermont lawmaker is calling for transparency from federal immigration authorities after witnessing the apparent detention of a Swanton store owner earlier this month.

Rep. Joe Luneau (R – Franklin-3) wrote to Gov. Phil Scott’s office detailing what he described as a troubling encounter on Sunday, Nov. 9, at the Grand Avenue Quick Stop in Swanton. Luneau, who represents St. Albans City, said he stopped by the store midday and greeted the owner — known to customers as Peter — as he regularly does. The couple who run the convenience store, originally from the Indian subcontinent, have operated the business for about a year.

According to Luneau, three law enforcement officers were inside the store, two wearing uniforms marked with ICE insignia. One agent asked the owner whether anyone else could run the store because he needed to accompany them for questioning. When the owner asked for documentation supporting the request, the agent reportedly said none was available. The officers then closed and locked the store. Luneau said he watched customers turn away in the parking lot.

When he returned a few hours later, the shop had reopened. The owner’s wife told Luneau that her husband had been taken for questioning in what she believed was a case of mistaken identity. But Luneau said he has visited the store daily since and has not seen the owner, raising concerns that he may be detained or has fled to avoid detention.

No-one named Peter, or having an Asian Indian name, and fitting the description and time frame provided by Luneau is recorded on the State of Vermont Inmate Tracker website. 

In his letter, Luneau urged the Scott administration to seek clarity from federal authorities. U.S. Marshals and U.S. Border Patrol have existing contracts with the state to house federal detainees at Northwest Correctional Facility in St. Albans and Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington. Other federal agencies, including ICE, may use those contracts as well.

Luneau said Vermonters deserve to know whether individuals held in state-run facilities are being detained by federal agencies and why.

“The Administration should be advised by ICE or any other federal agency as to why an individual is being held if said individual is being lodged at a facility owned by the State of Vermont,” he wrote. “It may or may not be that due process is being regularly honored, but Vermonters cannot have faith in this in the absence of this information.”

Neither ICE nor the Governor’s Office has publicly commented on the incident.