By james art 
The Becca Balint Congressman held a series of press conferences at Montpelier on Thursday to discuss the Trump administration’s executive orders and the impact on Vermonters.
The largest democratic representative of the state gathered defenders and civil servants to talk about the Trump administration orders to freeze federal funding and the resulting confusion. Balint, at the beginning of his second term, says freezing was detrimental to organizations, companies and agencies serving Vermonters.
“This chaos, which does not need to happen, directly causes panic, confusion. Some people have already lost their jobs. This does not want Vermonters, “Balint said. “And I will add, too, what the president has done is illegal. He knows this. His team knows this and the members of the Republican Congress know this. They say nothing. “
Balint says the White House deliberately causes chaos.
“This is a strategy, not only for flooding the area so that we do not know where to focus, but also run the boundaries of what is legal. They test the waters to see where the discount will come, “Balint noted.
State cashier Michael Pisak, Democrat, formed a federal working group to understand the impact of Trump’s executive orders and administrative actions on Vermont.
“Approximately 37% of our state budget consists of federal funds, and in most cases these federal funds are power programs that the federal government itself has directed countries to govern, all of which are thrown into chaos this week,” Pisak explained. “And freezing funding is just one example. On Saturday, the Trump administration threatened to impose significant rates on Canadian goods, which, combined with revenge rates, would significantly harm Vermont’s economy. “
The US Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat, held a virtual meeting on Friday morning with Vermont residents on the same subject. He calls the movements shocking and terrifying.
“It also happens to be illegal. The President has no right to choose and choose what he will honor with regard to budget loans in Congress. The difficulty we have is that this president is not interested in whether he is legal or not, whether he has authority or not, “Welch said. “And what I find, and now I’m just talking about it, I think this administration seems to think that there is some benefit from creating chaos. You know, you’re just very dumb, I think it’s cruel. “
Balint also gathered stakeholders to discuss the importance of labor for migrants in the state and the economic consequences of the efforts of federal deportation. Balint said the country could not ignore or normalize the rhetoric of demonization of immigrants and migrants.
“The rhetoric is so dangerous. I do not believe that Vermonters want us to be a nation that categorizes, demonizes and locks people because of what yours looks, “Balint said.
The Executive Director of the Asylum Asylum Jill Martin Diaz support project says they have seen a bigger presence of ice agents in Burlington and have received reports of ice patrols throughout the country.
“We put on our website tracking ice raids activities. We encourage people to announce anonymously what they see, “Diaz said. “And this way we can at least continue to be a resource for the community in sharing with you that people see and hear around the country, including south as Brattleboro, where ice agents were spotted in Hanaford’s parking lot. “
The Federal Special Group for Transition of Cashier Vermont, together with the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Vermont Business, will hold Webinar on Thursday so employers can discuss their rights and how to prepare for potential visits from immigration and implementation of Customs.