The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles has agreed to make changes to settle a lawsuit over allegations that it forwarded information about immigrant farm workers to federal authorities, leading to arrests and deportations.
The immigrant rights group Migrant Justice sued the state DMV, ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2018 and announced the settlement on Wednesday.
American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont Attorney Lia Ernst says the settlement limits what information the DMV collects and what can be shared with the federal government. “These accountability provisions are critical to the DMV building up the trust that it squandered in its long-standing collaboration with ICE.”
The agreement mandates that all DMV staff be retrained and an auditor be hired to ensure compliance.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contents © copyright 2020. All rights reserved.