Announcement comes amid questions about immigration enforcement and a Burlington homicide investigation

By Guy Page

Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak will sign an executive order Wednesday, October 14, addressing how the city will implement a new Vermont law prohibiting civil immigration arrests at schools, churches, health care facilities and other designated sensitive locations.

The mayor has scheduled a 9:30 AM press conference at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, 152 Pearl Street. Representatives of community organizations operating in sensitive locations are expected to speak.

The executive order will address Act 150, which took effect June 16, 2026. The law prohibits civil arrests, including civil immigration arrests, at designated locations throughout Vermont. The law was championed by Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (D/P Chittenden Central), who represents Burlington.

Protected locations include educational institutions, government buildings wholly owned and controlled by the state or a political subdivision, Department of Motor Vehicles offices, public libraries, polling places, social service establishments, places of worship, children’s camps and health care facilities. Supporters of the bill acknowledge that federal law typically pre-empts state law, and therefore Act 150 may not prohibit federal officials. However, its passage may embolden operators of those locations to deny cooperation with federal authorities, and supporters home to find a pathway to compliance in federal court.

The announcement comes amid heightened attention to immigration enforcement and public safety in Burlington and nationwide.

One issue concerns the recent killing of a woman on South Champlain Street. Police say the woman was beaten to death in her home, in front of her children, allegedly by her husband, Bal Khadka.

As reported Monday by Mike Donoghue of Vermont News First, Burlington Police have released little information about Khadka’s background, including how long he has lived in the area and whether he was employed.

Interim Police Chief Shawn Burke said officers are restricted from asking certain questions under Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing policy.

The statewide policy, first established by law in 2014 and updated several times, limits cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal civil immigration authorities.

Under the policy, officers generally may not inquire about a person’s civil immigration status unless that information is necessary to an ongoing criminal investigation. The policy also prohibits officers from using a person’s characteristics as a reason to question immigration status.

Burke did not say Khadka is an immigrant or indicate that his immigration status played any role in the homicide investigation. There is no confirmed immigration connection to the killing.

The mayor’s announcement also comes amid reports of federal immigration enforcement activity elsewhere in the country, including a reported Department of Homeland Security action involving Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a naturalized U.S. citizen and outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Details of that reported action have not been independently confirmed.

Act 150 concerns civil arrests, a category distinct from arrests made under criminal law. The distinction is important because the law’s restrictions on civil immigration enforcement do not necessarily prevent police from investigating crimes or making criminal arrests at the designated locations.

Wednesday’s signing is expected to clarify how Burlington officials will carry out the state law and what direction city employees will receive concerning civil immigration enforcement.

The city has not yet released the text of the executive order or specified whether it will impose requirements beyond those already established by Act 150.