7/10 Vermont Prepares for Loss of Critical Federal Funding & Fights for Immigrant Rights
The passage of the federal budget bill promises an impending crisis of unaffordable health insurance for farmers, the self-employed, and many other communities and individuals in VT. It cuts food assistance programs which our farmers and communities rely upon. Our immigrant community members and all of us will be made less safe by a dramatic increase in the funding for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), detention centers, and a more militarized and unaccountable “immigration” enforcement apparatus. The bill provides tax cuts and other economic benefits for wealthy individuals and corporations, and increases the national debt by trillions of dollars.
The Federal Budget bill includes cuts to medicaid, loss of subsidies for health insurance premiums, and more affecting healthcare in Vermont at a time when requested premium increases from Blue Cross Blue Shield of VT are over 20% for individual plans for 2026, and deductibles are unreasonably high. We know that farmers and farmworkers are already disproportionately impacted by challenges of accessibility, affordability, and quality of care in VT and nationally. This bill will drastically affect our food security and the health of our community members through generational cuts to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and other programs which many VT community members and farming families rely upon themselves for their own food security, and which are a source of income supporting their farms (programs like Crop Cash and others have further leveraged these federal programs to the benefit of VT farmers and community members who are on food assistance programs). This bill dramatically increases funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), detention centers, and further militarization of an unaccountable and unjust “immigration” enforcement system: “With over $170 billion, ICE will become the largest law enforcement agency in the U.S….armed with this funding, this administration will be able to multiply its violent raids and detain over 750,000 children, parents, and longtime residents in remote detention camps where, even now, people are dying” (Sarah Mehta, Deputy Director of Government Affairs, ACLU, said in a statement).
As reported by Migrant Justice, last month community leaders Nacho and Heidi were detained by Border Patrol while delivering food to farmworkers. Agents stopped them without cause, smashed the car window, and pulled them from their vehicle. For the past two weeks, they have been unjustly held in detention. Hundreds of community members gathered in the streets to support Nacho and Heidi during their federal court hearings on Monday and Tuesday of this week. If you haven’t yet, send a message to ICE to free Nacho, free Heidi, and stop their deportations, and follow Migrant Justice for updates and more calls to action and ways to support our farmworker community.
The Federal Budget bill continues to clarify its intent and benefactors in providing significant tax cuts and financial benefits for wealthy individuals and large corporations - further exacerbating ballooning global economic inequality.
We are hearing from and working with people and organizations throughout our community, with our Congressional delegation, and with VT’s lawmakers to prepare, to respond, and we invite you to reach out to share your efforts, your concerns, and your ideas.