Committee hears testimony on S.44, which clarifies governor approval for ICE agreements

The House Judiciary Committee on April 17 took testimony on S.44 (as passed by the Senate), a bill that would require the governor to approve any agreement entered into under 8 U.S.C. §1357(g) or 19 U.S.C. §1401 and would remove a standing exception that previously allowed state, county or municipal agencies to enter such agreements during declared emergencies.

S.44 "is a very brief bill," said Rick Sagle, Legislative Counsel, Office of Legislative Council, during the committee’s walk-through. "This is pretty unique. I don't think any other state has this arrangement," he said, describing the statute that currently requires governor approval and noting the Senate struck language that had allowed a local agency to enter an agreement during a state or national emergency.

The nut graf: The bill keeps governor approval as the controlling authority for any deputization or customs-designation agreements with federal immigration authorities and removes the emergency loophole in current statute; witnesses told the committee that, to their knowledge, Vermont currently has no active agreements of this type.

Why it matters: Agreements under 8 U.S.C. §1357(g) (commonly called 287(g) agreements) and 19 U.S.C. §1401…