State legislators are considering to better coordinate services for the roughly 30,000 immigrants in Vermont.
The Senate Government Operations Committee voted 5-0 Thursday to advance a
鈥淚mmigrants in Vermont are the 鈥� they're vital to our economy and to our future,鈥� said the bill鈥檚 sponsor, Sen. Martine Larocque Gulick, D-Chittenden County, earlier this week. 鈥淏ut the challenges they face are around licensing and education, language barriers.鈥�
Gulick said she鈥檚 witnessed these challenges as a high school teacher and school board member in Burlington, where her ability to speak French meant she was helping community members navigate systems.
鈥淏ut I'm not an expert, so a lot of times I end up trying to, you know, grab at straws and reach out for help myself,鈥� she said.
Ruth Steinmetz with the Winooski Working Communities Challenge said there could be more support for immigrant entrepreneurs 鈥� especially right now as navigate ongoing construction in the city鈥檚 downtown.
鈥淢any of them are saying that they have dips in revenue up to 60-70% and have very few safety nets to help them,鈥� Steinmetz said. 鈥淔inancial institutions don't necessarily have language access supports for business owners, or even just establish a trusted relationship, so business owners can feel like they can talk to them and tell them, 鈥楬ey, I'm experiencing some troubles here. Can you help me with a loan or maybe a line of credit?鈥� or things like that.鈥�
The legislation proposes gathering local immigrant and refugee community organizations and service providers to recommend how to form a Vermont Office of New Americans.
asking lawmakers to take up the issue. The signatories characterized the bill as 鈥渟trengthening鈥� the mandate of the existing State Refugee Office and making sure its 鈥渆xpertise benefits all of Vermont鈥檚 foreign-born residents.鈥�
鈥淲ithout action, the proposed legislation will stall for a second year, leaving Vermont鈥檚 refugee service coordination vulnerable to federal disruptions and missing a critical opportunity to build a more integrated, sustainable future for all,鈥� the letter reads.
Recent federal funding cuts for Vermont鈥檚 resettlement agencies mean they are now half-staffed, according to State Refugee Office Director Tracy Dolan. And the State Refugee Office is itself almost entirely federally funded, Dolan said, and can serve a limited population of immigrants in its role as coordinator of funding and services.
鈥淲hen it comes in for anyone outside of refugee status, other immigrants, there is no landing place,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e try to scramble 鈥� I would say we are inadequate.鈥�
Dolan added that they often receive calls from employers looking to hire people coming to Vermont through visa programs.
鈥淎nd they're like, 鈥楬ow do we do it as a group and sponsor?鈥� And I think that's a great question. I do not have the bandwidth nor the expertise to help you figure that out,鈥� she said.
Dolan noted that she couldn鈥檛 speak for the Scott administration鈥檚 position on a potential Office of New Americans. But she agreed it would make sense for her to chair a study committee 鈥� as the legislation proposes 鈥� given the questions she fields in her current role.
The committee would start meeting no later than Sept. 1, 2025, and submit its report by Sept. 1, 2026.
If Vermont does create an Office of New Americans, it will join that have a similar office, and .
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