|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Guy Page
Bennington, Lamoille and Windsor counties are among 484 counties nationwide identified by a Washington, D.C.-based immigration policy organization as suitable locations for new immigrants, based on labor shortages, available housing, cost of living and aging populations.
The three Vermont counties appear in a November 20, 2025 report by the Niskanen Center titled “Mapping America’s Immigration Needs: A County-Level Model for Matching Migrants to Local Economies.”
Niskanen, funded in part by leftist philanthropist George Soros’ Open Society not-for-profit, in its own reports states that it is working as a subcontractor to the federally-funded Welcoming Initiatives for Newcomers (WIN), White House correspondent Natalie Winters reports.
The Niskanen report identifies communities where researchers believe immigration could help fill vacant jobs, offset population aging and support local economic growth. Vermont, with its aging population and workforce shortage, had three counties selected as likely candidates for needing an infusion of migrant workers.
The Niskanen recommendations are just that. Any decisions to place migrants in the three Vermont counties would be made much higher up the federal government food chain, and presumably would need permission, or at least cooperation, by state officials.
The findings come as the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ WIN program moves toward a new refugee resettlement framework that would give states greater influence over where refugees are placed.
On December 30, 2025, HHS announced plans to award up to $1 million to the San Diego-based WIN to assess the nation’s capacity for refugee resettlement. The federal project calls for evaluating housing, workforce needs, schools and social services, with the goal of producing a nationwide readiness map and recommendations for future refugee placement. WIN’s work was scheduled to be completed on September 29.
Vermont Governor Phil Scott on October 2 asked the Trump administration by letter to raise the state’s federally-imposed cap of immigrant resettlement by 100. Scott wrote: “Refugees have become great neighbors, colleagues and members of our communities and they’re making important contributions to Vermont and across the country. When we have the capacity to help more people fleeing war and persecution, while protecting our national security, I believe we have a moral obligation to do so.”
How the Vermont counties were selected
Niskanen researcher Cassandra Zimmer-Wong developed what the organization calls a Migration Match Index, using 16 economic and demographic indicators covering all 3,144 U.S. counties and county-equivalents.
The baseline model identified 484 counties in 44 states that met five conditions:
- Unemployment below 4.3%, indicating a tight labor market.
- More job openings than unemployed workers.
- Rental housing vacancy rates above 5%.
- Two-bedroom rents costing no more than 30% of median household income.
- At least 14% of the population aged 65 or older.
Bennington, Lamoille and Windsor were the only Vermont counties included in the baseline list.
The researchers argue that some communities face a choice between attracting workers from outside their borders and experiencing further economic decline.
The report states that the index is intended to identify places where migration can provide a mutual benefit to newcomers and local economies.
The study also acknowledges that statistics alone cannot determine whether a community is prepared to receive immigrants. Public attitudes, schools, social services and local willingness to participate are among the factors that would require further review.
Federal government studying resettlement capacity
The 2025 WIN-HHS agreement called for a nationwide State Capacity and Readiness Assessment, including interviews with state officials and evaluations of housing, education, employment and staffing.
The proposed project period ran from January 5 through September 29, 2026.
Federal officials said the goal was to give states better information and greater influence over refugee placement recommendations.
The Niskanen Center has also advocated a broader immigration reform agenda, including state-based visa programs, local sponsorship of immigrants and policies that direct newcomers toward communities with labor shortages.
Its November report suggests the Migration Match Index could eventually be used to guide humanitarian resettlement, attract foreign workers and help communities with aging populations.
However, inclusion on the Niskanen list does not mean a county has agreed to accept immigrants, that federal officials have designated it as a resettlement site or that any specific number of newcomers will be sent there. Nor does the Niskanen report identify how many immigrants Bennington, Lamoille or Windsor counties could accommodate.
It also leaves open questions about whether local officials in the three counties have been consulted, whether housing identified through federal statistics is available in practice, and what costs local schools and social service providers might face if resettlement increases.
Discover more from Vermont Daily Chronicle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categories: Immigration
Like Gov. Scott, I also welcome immigrants to Vermont, as long as they are here legally, and are willing to work hard and assimilate into the surrounding culture. That’s what my grandparents did, and I was raised and remain an American patriot.
Also, those who are not welcomed are people practicing the belief that Christians must convert or die, and that they are worthy of being lied to.
They will not be Legal. They have been fast tracked thru the Biden now Trump Era system to usurp the true Law Abiding Immigrants that have been waiting patiently to enter our Country Legally. NO ILLEGAL ALIENS CAN ENTER OUR COUNTRY. ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS MUST BE DEPORTED !!!
The great planers of your future are at work doing what is best for you. Comment from Richard Day.
Soro’s?…you can bet those chosen fits a Soros mold of division and insurrection.
Immigration via assimilation ONLY. Don’t Dearborn our Vermont! “One for English, two for English, three for English”. Let’s get all those people on SNAP benefits to work – that can work – as well as welfare recipients that are begging at our stop signs whilst holding your cell phones andleaving their little trash piles.
I this the same governor who has been telling us about the lack of sufficient housing in Vermont? Are the same reporters covering both stories?
This demonstrates the limited understanding that progressives have of basic economic principles, especially having to do with supply and demand in the housing market.
I this the same governor who has been telling us about the lack of sufficient housing in Vermont? Are the same reporters covering both stories?
Soro’s !!! You have got to be kidding! NO!
Soro’s !!! You have got to be kidding! NO!
Completely depressing report.
Who the H E double hockey sticks is the Niskanen Center to tell anybody anywhere that they need more immigrants ? “funded in part by leftist philanthropist George Soros“. Oh, okay, It’s partly funded by George Soros. I should have known. On the bright side, Uncle George is never on the wrong side of issues. Right ??? (sarcasm)
We don’t want them recital in Vermont. We want them settled back in their own country. Stop harboring and aiding illegals. Democrats are idiots and this is the reason why our taxes are out of control because we give money to people that don’t belong here. We give Social Security to illegals. We get welfare to illegals. We give benefits to people that don’t belong in Vermont that came here for the benefits. We encourage drug use because we have illegal injection sites. When are we going to stop letting these communist Democrats control our money.
Meanwhile generational Vermonters are living in cars, vans, campers, and tents up and down the Connecticut River Valley. Dont believe me? Walk into the woods along the roads or down by the rivers. In addition Vermont has motels that are full of individuals, elderly, veterans, and families living in motels because no apartments are available. The idiot politicians that come up with the idea of bringing in refugees need to be treated to a winter in the woods living in a tent.
You lost me at SoroS 🐍
My name is Brian Judd and I am running as an Independent Candidate for Vermont Governor in 2026. If Governor Phil Scott is reelected this will become a reality for Vermont. If Amanda Janoo is elected Governor, this will become a reality for Vermont. NOTHING will get better under Scott. EVERYTHING will get worse under Janoo. Vermont’s only hope is to Vote for Brian Judd. I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS RESETTLEMENT OF ILLGAL OR LEGAL ALIENS IN VERMONT. THEY NEED TO BE RETURNED TO THEIR COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN !!! I am the ONLY Candidate running on Enforcing ALL LAWS. We still have over 5000 ILLEGAL ALIENS in Vermont. Every one of them has to be Deported. On Day 1 I contact the Trump Administration and tell them that ICE is Welcome in Vermont and that we are NO Longer a Sanctuary for Illegal Aliens. I am the ONLY Candidate talking about NOT RAISING TAXES. On Day 1 I will enact a State of Emergency and Issue an Executive Order to FREEZE raising taxes in 2027. I am the ONLY Candidate calling for the TOTAL AND COMPLETE REPEAL OF ACT 181. Act 181 is a Land Grab and another Tax put upon Vermonters by the State. On Day 1 I Will enact a State of Emergency and issue and Executive Order for the Complete and Total Repeal of Act 181. I am the ONLY Candidate with a plan to End Homelessness or seriously Decrease Homelessness by bringing back the Vermont State Psychiatric Hospital and bringing back State Vagrancy Laws. Since the Vermont Vagrancy Laws were repealed in 2018 Homelessness in Vermont has risen 176%. There is also the potential for a Health Crisis in Homeless encampments. It is Inhumane to leave human beings on the street. We Can Fix This !!! On Day 1 I will enact a State of Emergency to bring back Vagrancy Laws and Open Emergency Shelters. I will issue an Executive Order to do this. I am the ONLY Candidate that is talking about Auditing the State of Vermont and Auditing All Non Profits in the State of Vermont. On Day 1 I will enact a State Of Emergency and issue an Executive Order to carry out both of these Audits. We have over 140 Vermont State owned buildings sitting empty. The Dept. of Justice has found Fraud and or Waste and or Abuse now in All 50 States. Vermont has More Non Profits Per Capita than any other State, over 6000. Vermont is 1 of only 9 States that DOES NOT require financial recording from Non Profits. Vermont Non Profits took in over $2 billion dollars in 2025. Vermont’s Non Profits make up over 20% of Vermont’s Work Force. God did not create these problems. These are Not Natural Disasters. Woman and Man Made Them, Woman and Man can Fix Them. All These Problems Are Fixable. All you need is the Will to Do it. Phil Scott does Not have the will. If he did he would have already done it. Amana Janoo does Not have the will. Under Janoo these problems will get worse. I have the will to do this. I am beholding to No one except Legal Vermont Citizens. I am not taking money from anyone. Both Scott and Janoo have huge Political War Chests. I am pay for my campaign myself. SAVE VERMONT, VOTE JUDD. Thanks for listening. Thank you for your time and consideration. God Bless You All, God Bless Vermont and God Bless The United States Of America.
802-839-9985 brianjuddward2@gmail.com
Guy thanks for allowing this guy to post. Somebody is speaking the truth. Appreciate the comment.
Thanks Neil. It’s Too Bad, But It’s Not Too Late…
What about the degradation of our culture? What about the preservation or restoration of our culture?
Phil Scott keeps disappointing his constituents, again, stupid opinion that’s gonna resonate on his upcoming election, those next 100 are gonna cost us big money
Interestingly enough, Schumer and Hekiem Jefferies filed a Federal lawsuit yesterday to stop trying to illegals off of the voter rolls until an ‘investigation’ after the election.
They picked places partially by having “Unemployment below 4.3%”? Unemployment data are numbers from cooked books. They’re rubbish data. The real story is labor force participation. In other words, the number of working aged adults actually working. It’s never been lower! Meanwhile go to Japan and see how just about everyone is employed. That’s the answer, get more people working. Government welfare and visa programs allow of lot of able-bodied adults to stay home. Then, they justify brining in the immigrants. Probably all as planned.
Agree, the official number is people who are no longer looking for work or recently terminated. Companies are reluctant to open, invest or reinvest in Blue States such as VT, even with a ‘GOP’ figure head Governor as long as the legislature dictates economic instability and excessive taxation and fees, like the VT 20% ‘clean air fee’, not an official Tax they say
In Vermont the children of non English speaking, low income immigrants are given triple weight in the per pupil cost equation. Instead of paying the cost of one student Vermont taxpayers are charged for three students. The $30k per pupil cost becomes a $90k bill to taxpayers.
The student does not directly receive these benefits. They go to the school with no requirement on how they are used. Because schools report their student population as “weighted counts” and therefore claim many more students than actually attend the cost per student is drastically understated.
According to Grok: “Vermont’s EL and poverty weights are outliers relative to high-performing states, and there is no evidence that current levels are justified by outcomes; sanctuary-style policies and refugee/asylum inflows contribute modestly but measurably to the concentration of high-weight students.”
Janoo promises to fill rural towns with political and climate refugees to offset the hollowing out that the state’s defacto no growth policies have produced over the years. How has that worked out for European countries that adopted these types of policies decades ago? Just watch the news. What will happen to per pupil costs when the weighting system is applied to this burgeoning population of “New Americans”? You know the answer.
VT will be like Minnesota corrupt (if it can get worse) VT has had a large influx of immigrates for neighboring states. And they gravitated to government. These local immigrates don’t really give a hoot for the locals that are struggling. And they don’t possess the mental ability to comprehend their actions. These new immigrates desire to have foreign immigrants here. Interesting the three counties are in southern VT, why not the Burlington , Montpelier, Rutland areas? Place the foreigners in the socialistic areas, they should want them, but NO they would rather create problems in other areas. There have been many problems in other states, take it as a warning. Again this will be another issue force onto ntives, without a vote. The bottom line is that these people that want this have the familiar attitude (I feel good doing so”. Wouldn’t doubt Soros is behind this push, why not place the illegals in his back yard or safe compound in Westchester County NY. He should be deported and confiscate his money accounts all his non-profits.