10-04-2025
Two Vermont high school students from Nicaragua to be deported, Champlain Valley School District says
Two students at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg have been 'given days to leave or face deportation' under a Trump administration order that strips legal protections for Nicaraguans in the U.S., school district officials said Wednesday.
'These students are not political operatives,' the Champlain Valley School District said in a letter to families, faculty and staff. 'They are not criminals. They are not threats. They are young people who have found safety and meaning in our community.'
In March, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would revoke legal protections in place since October 2022 for 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. They arrived with financial sponsors and were given two-year permits to live and work in the U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they will lose their legal status on April 24
The statement from the district, signed by Superintendent Adam Bunting and Board Chair Emily McLean, said the students came to the United States legally and 'have followed the rules as expected.'
'To deport these students is not only heartbreaking for those of us who know them personally. It also contradicts the very values Vermonters work to instill in our young people.
'While we may not be able to shift federal policy in the next two weeks, we can at least show all of our young people that we care — and that we hope to do better.'
The District said 'those who are compelled to take actions' should contact the school for additional resources.
'They've done what all teenagers do: tried to figure out who they are, where they belong, what they care about,' the letter said. 'And now, because of a shift in federal policy, their lives are being upended — again.'
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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