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Vermont immigration legal services facing funding cliff as federal grants expire, provider tells Judiciary committee
Summary
The state's only newly established immigration legal provider said federal seed funding is ending and warned that a loss of support would reduce services for thousands of foreign-born Vermonters; the witness requested state and foundation support to sustain staffing.
A leader of a Vermont immigration legal-services program told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 7 that federal funding supporting newly created immigration representation is expiring and that replacement resources are needed to sustain services for thousands of foreign-born residents.
"There are 30,000 Vermonters right now who are afraid of losing their ability to work," Jill Martin Diaz, executive director of the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, said in testimony. She described a program that has grown rapidly in the last year and that is currently about 50% federally funded, including through grants administered by the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The nut graf: witnesses said that immigration-related legal needs intersect with housing, schooling and employment, and that the expiration of one-time federal grants this summer threatens ongoing casework and local supports.
Martin Diaz told senators that Vermont has historically been a legal-services desert for immigration matters and that recent federal emergency funding (related to Afghan and Ukrainian arrivals) helped launch or expand services. She said those funds are largely one-time awards that will expire in June. The program she leads now supports four attorney-level positions but faces a projected funding shortfall of roughly $200,000 over the next 18 months to maintain current staffing.
Committee members pressed for clarification about funding sources and sustainability. Martin Diaz said the bulk of at-risk federal funding came through the Office of Refugee Resettlement and related pass-through grants and that national partners such as the Immigrant Justice Corps have helped place fellows and bring additional resources to Vermont. Martin Diaz and other witnesses described how immigration enforcement actions can trigger cascading service needs — for example, schoolchildren whose parents are detained and families at risk of eviction.
Martin Diaz asked the committee to consider state support for legal services and increased Vermont Bar Foundation funding to sustain clinics, supervision and fellowship placements that expand capacity. "We're really hopeful that the state can help us meet this moment and continue to provide life-saving legal services that are going to be pivotal to Vermont's economic future," she said.
No committee action was taken during the hearing; witnesses offered to provide follow-up budget details and to work with the committee on potential funding options.
