VT Mob Attempts To Block ICE Arrest Of Illegal Immigrant DUI Suspect

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Open-border activists in Vermont galvanized a group of protesters in an attempt to prevent an illegal immigrant drunk driver from being apprehended by immigration enforcement agents in South Burlington on Wednesday.

According to court records, 24-year-old Deyvi Daniel Corona-Sanchez was arrested for driving under the influence in Middlebury, Vt., on Jan. 15. He had already been deported for illegally crossing the southern border in 2021, and his arrest alerted Immigration and Customs Enforcement that he had illegally re-entered the U.S.

ICE agents were watching a South Burlington home Wednesday morning when they saw a man they believed to be Corona-Sanchez get into a car with another man. When ICE tried to pull the car over, the driver attempted to flee. When additional ICE agents used their vehicles to block the suspect’s car, the driver rammed one agent’s vehicle and drove away, eventually crashing into an oncoming vehicle.

One of the passengers then ran into the home ICE had been watching.

While ICE was waiting for a criminal complaint and federal warrants to enter the house where they believed Corona-Sanchez was hiding, the group Migrant Justice learned about the enforcement action and alerted anti-immigration-enforcement activists.

Migrant Justice opposes enforcement of immigration laws, arguing that “freedom of movement is a fundamental human right,” including “the right to cross a border in search of a better life. No human being is illegal.”

According to Vermont Public Radio, “the crowd continued to grow through the day, and people began to circle the house with groups blocking the front and rear doors in an attempt to prevent ICE agents from entering.” Eventually, several hundred people showed up to hinder ICE’s enforcement actions.

Preventing law enforcement from executing a federal criminal warrant is a crime.

“The occupants of the residence were identified, and Corona-Sanchez was found not to be present in the residence. The arrest warrant for Corona-Sanchez remains active,” according to a statement from the Vermont U.S. attorney’s office.

Three people in the house were taken into custody, and as ICE agents tried to leave, some members of the mob became more aggressive. They attempted to block ICE vehicles from driving away, shoved ICE agents, and threw mud at them. Eventually, federal officers were forced to use flashbangs and tear gas to disperse the unruly crowd.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch, are holding up the DHS budget in order to force changes to ICE policy. One change they are demanding is that ICE obtain federal criminal warrants rather than use administrative detainers.

In the Corona-Sanchez case, ICE did wait for federal warrants, but the state’s Democrats still attacked the agency.

“President Trump’s domestic army, ICE, came into Vermont yesterday from out of state and, as is virtually always the case, acted in an irresponsible, reckless, and unprofessional manner,” Sanders and Welch said in a statement released along with U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt.

“What happened yesterday in South Burlington was outrageous and avoidable. Rather than notifying local and state law enforcement of a planned arrest, ICE created a crisis that resulted in them using flashbang grenades and tear gas against protestors.”

But Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak told reporters such cooperation is not allowed.

“Under Vermont law, local police are tasked with keeping the community safe and do not participate in federal immigration enforcement, except in very limited situations required by law,” Mulvaney-Stanak said in a statement. “It is important to note that, while the BPD will not help ICE agents in civil enforcement matters, they are prohibited by law from impeding ICE actions. The BPD’s primary focus is therefore securing a scene for the general public’s safety.”

Republican Gov. Phil Scott blamed both ICE and the activists for the conflict.

“I want to be clear: How the events concluded, and the tactics deployed by federal officials, as well as the actions of those there to agitate, further escalated a situation that was avoidable from the start,” Scott said. “It’s examples like this that further divide communities and law enforcement and result in more harm being done than good.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.