Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George has repeatedly declined to prosecute people arrested protesting ICE in the Burlington area — where DHS concentrates its Vermont facilities — triggering an escalating, unusually personal feud with Governor Phil Scott’s administration and state law enforcement.

Timeline

• February 2026: State police arrested 11 and cited 2 more (13 total) for trespassing at the Williston ICE surveillance facility. George declined to file charges.
• April 22, 2026: George announced she would not charge the 6 protesters arrested during the March 11 South Burlington ICE raid (where ICE deployed pepper spray and flashbangs).
• April 23, 2026: At a press conference with Gov. Scott, Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison criticized George in personal terms: “she is an activist first and a prosecutor second.” State officials escalated the feud over the dropped charges.
• May 14, 2026: Four more arrested at the Williston facility (unlawful trespass, resisting arrest); due in Burlington court June 30.
• May 22, 2026: Boston Globe reported the standoff in full — George refusing charges, law enforcement “furious,” and threats to route protest cases to the Vermont Attorney General to bypass her.

George’s Rationale

“ICE’s actions are unlawful,” George said. “That, to me, is not political. That is factual.” Her position rests on her view that the Trump administration’s deportation apparatus and ICE’s Vermont operations are themselves unlawful — and that prosecuting nonviolent protesters of unlawful conduct is not in the public interest.

The Bypass Threat

Vermont law-enforcement officials, frustrated by George’s refusals, have threatened to send protest-related cases to the Vermont Attorney General’s office instead — a maneuver that would route around the elected county prosecutor’s discretion. Whether the AG will accept such referrals remains the open question driving the conflict.

Why It Matters for the Pipeline

1. Prosecutorial discretion as a resistance lever: A locally elected prosecutor declining to enforce trespass laws against ICE protesters is a structural check that protects civil disobedience — and a replicable model.
2. State-vs-local fracture: The Scott administration runs ICE detention (DOC MOU) and defends the state police role at raids, while the county prosecutor refuses to backstop enforcement — exposing the “state-as-jailer paradox” at the prosecutorial layer.
3. Sustains the Williston campaign: Non-prosecution lowers the cost of repeated civil disobedience at the Williston intelligence center, helping sustain that protest campaign.

Sources

• Boston Globe — Vermont prosecutor refuses to charge ICE protesters, sparking police anger (May 22, 2026)
• WCAX — State officials escalate feud with prosecutor over dropped protest charges (Apr 23, 2026)
• VTDigger — Chittenden County prosecutor declines to charge six protesters arrested at South Burlington ICE raid (Apr 22, 2026)
• VTDigger — State’s Attorney will not prosecute Williston ICE office protesters (Feb 27, 2026)
• Vermont Public — Prosecutor won’t charge protesters arrested at ICE surveillance facility in Williston (Feb 26, 2026)
• VTDigger — Four arrested at protest against ICE at Williston facility (May 14, 2026)