Viral video shows Vermont activists blocking ICE

A video that spread widely on April 12 shows a tactic Vermont activists used a month earlier in South Burlington: surrounding a house, linking arms, and using umbrellas to block the view of federal immigration agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation. (vermontpublic.org) The confrontation happened on March 11 on Dorset Street after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to arrest Deyvi Daniel Corona-Sanchez, a 24-year-old Mexican man they suspected had run into the house after a car chase and crash. Migrant Justice said people began arriving by about 8:30 a.m. after a call to its emergency line. (vermontpublic.org) Vermont Public reported that protesters formed circles around the home and blocked the front and rear doors for hours. The standoff ended that night after federal agents entered the house and removed three people, none of whom were named on the criminal warrant. (vermontpublic.org) The video is getting attention now because it compresses a long, chaotic day into a few seconds of imagery: masks, umbrellas, shouting, and a crowd trying to stop agents from reaching or leaving a home. Vermont Public described the March 11 raid as the first major confrontation in the state between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and protesters. (vermontpublic.org) The fight over what viewers are seeing is also broader than one clip. Protesters told Vermont lawmakers on April 1 that the daytime crowd had been calmer at first, with singing, chanting, and food, and that tensions rose after more police arrived. (vermontpublic.org) Law enforcement officials gave a different account. They told lawmakers their presence helped prevent worse violence, and South Burlington police said officers used limited force to move people who were allegedly throwing debris and blocking vehicles. (vermontpublic.org) (mynbc5.com) Another reason the March 11 raid kept reverberating is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement later acknowledged agents had been following the wrong man that day. Gov. Phil Scott criticized the federal operation after it became clear the three people detained were not the person named in the warrant. (vermontpublic.org) (vtdigger.org) The fallout has moved into city halls and the Statehouse. Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak announced a city review and later signed Executive Order 2026-1 on preparedness, transparency, and policing protocols tied to federal immigration enforcement, while Vermont lawmakers have been weighing bills on how schools and police should respond to Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. (burlingtonvt.gov) (vtdigger.org) So the viral clip is real, but it is not a snapshot of a random street clash. It is footage from a March 11 South Burlington raid that left three people detained, police tactics under review, and Vermont officials still arguing over how far local communities should go to resist federal immigration enforcement. (vermontpublic.org) (burlingtonvt.gov)