At his weekly press conference, Gov. Phil Scott refused a call from Senate Democratic leadership to terminate Vermont’s agreement with the federal government that allows immigration detainees to be held in state prisons. “I’m not sure it helps the people being detained by moving them out of Vermont,” Scott said, citing a report that one detainee expressed relief that he was being held in our B.L.S.

And you know, he’s not wrong. At least not in one important way. Immigration attorney Brett Stokes of the Vermont Law and Graduate School and Falko Schilling of the Vermont ACLU told VTDigger that they’d prefer their clients to be close at hand, not sent to unknown facilities in other states — or even overseas. I understand that, and I think we should take their viewpoint seriously.

That said. There is a moral dimension to this question that Scott did not address. Do we as Vermonters want to be complicit in the Trump administration’s crackdown on alleged thought crimes? Are we comfortable being part of this authoritarian project? Phil Scott apparently is, as long as we can help shave the rough edges off.

I must also point out a bitter irony that went unnoticed by our news media.

“I get the frustration that people are feeling. People want to do something about what they see happening,” Scott said. ““But is that in the best interest of those who are being detained to just ship them off to somewhere else, Mississippi, Texas, wherever?”

Ahem.

Mississippi, you say?

Did the governor and every reporter in the room forget that the state of Vermont ships some of its own inmates off to a for-profit prison located in… Mississippi?

I really wish somebody had thought to ask Scott about that. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to do the honors.

I know, it’s not the same thing. Vermont exercises some contractual control over how our inmates are treated, and at least the inmates have been convicted of actual crimes. But c’mon, doesn’t it reflect badly on Scott administration policy that he held up Mississippi of all places as the domestic equivalent of a gulag?

Yeah, it kinda does.

And hey, bonus. If we canceled the federal contract, we’d have more than enough space in our own prisons to bring all our inmates home. Just sayin’.

Otherwise, Scott offered some tempered criticism of the Trump administration, which is probably about the most we could expect from him or any Republican elected official. It’s not enough, but it’s not nothing.

I think everyone is deserving of due process. If there’s something they’re being detained for, the government should tell us or the courts. …If they’re a danger to society, a danger to us, maybe they should leave. But if they’re not, if we’re just mad at them for something they said, that’s not good enough reason from my standpoint.

Great, fine, but Scott gave no indication that he would take any action beyond a brisk furrowing of the brow. When asked if he shares Senate leadership’s desire to “do something,” he replied “it’s frustrating in some respects, but at the same time, we don’t have a lot of control over the federal government.”

“Frustrating in some respects,” eh? I think I’d rank it a little higher, or a lot.

Scott also repeated his criticism of Democratic leaders and those of us who are all in a lather because Donald Trump is strangling the federal government, suppressing our basic freedoms, and imposing authoritarian methods to punish dissent.

I think it does disrupt the flow of work, because all of a sudden we get caught up with the rhetoric and the outrage, and that seems to be where we want to put our focus.
…Sometimes it’s just rhetoric. And sometimes with this administration, it’s done purposely to take our eyes off of something else that’s happening. Let’s not fall into the trap each and every time.

“The flow of work” is Scott’s top priority. It’s how he opened the press conference, with complaints about the Legislature’s handling of issues like housing and energy and education reform. He didn’t address the detention of Mohsen Mahdawi at all until reporters quizzed him on the subject. Which makes him look like that little dog saying “This is fine” while the fire rages around him. To paraphrase the quotation often (and wrongly) attributed to Edmund Burke, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to focus on ‘the flow of work.'”

When asked if he was concerned that the Trump administration might not follow court orders, he mustered his usual standard of articulateness. “Our country was founded on basic principles like freedom and due process and so forth and exercising our rights through speech and so forth. I worry about the erosion of that and what could be happening as a result.”

“Freedom and due process and so forth.” “Exercising our rights and so forth.”

Violations of democratic norms, jackbooted thuggery, and so forth.

Oh, and the governor casually stuck a dagger in the back of H.91, the House’s attempt to replace the troubled motel voucher program, saying he looks forward to seeing “how this reduces the cost significantly.” Because, you know, the important thing about protecting the most vulnerable is that it doesn’t cost too much.

Anyway. I think we’ve seen the full extent of Phil Scott’s participation in The Resistance. Let’s take a look at what our Democratic leaders might do, because we should expect more from them.

There’s been talk, hypothetical so far, of a state attorney general bringing criminal charges against federal officials for actions like the kidnapping of Mr. Mahdawi. How about it, Charity Clark? Want to make some history instead of just being one of many Democratic AGs signing on to civil lawsuits?

And here’s something our legislative leaders could do, if they’re really concerned about our state government’s complicity in Trump’s authoritarianism. How about a hearing by the Vermont House or Senate Judiciary Committee, or a joint hearing, where state officials would be asked about what assistance they offer to the feds?

We know the motorcade that whisked Mr. Mahdawi away had Vermont license plates. What can the DMV say about that? Can it reveal who registered the vehicles? How does it facilitate this unAmerican secrecy? Do state or local police agencies participate in or offer any support to the Trump regime? What rules do sheriff’s departments operate under, if any? How does the Department of Corrections interact with the feds? Are federal agents allowed access to detainees in state prisons? Do they interrogate detainees in state facilities? 

That’s a starter list of questions. Such a hearing wouldn’t disrupt the system, but it would put useful information on public record and perhaps lead to legislation limiting state interaction with the feds. Rep. Martin LaLonde of South Burlington chairs the House Judiciary Committee; if you live in his district, consider contacting him. Other members include Tom Burditt, Kevin “Coach” Christie, Angela Arsenault, Ian Goodnow, Ken Goslant, Zachary Harvey, Alicia Malay, Thomas Oliver, and Barbara Rachelson. Sen. Nader Hashim of Windham County chairs Senate Judiciary; its other members are Robert Norris, Tanya Vyhovsky, Phil Baruth, and Chris Mattos. Again, if any of these people represent your town or county, please get in touch and suggest a hearing.

Phil Scott may not be of a mind to extend himself beyond a bit of brow-furrowing. But the Democrats do control quite a few levers of power. They should be exercising the authority they possess. That is, if they really care about what’s being done.

Otherwise, here’s a message that seems apropos.