Blog

December 29, 2022

A local non-profit organization has been operating quietly for the past few years.

But at Wednesday night’s St. Johnsbury Select Board meeting, they publicly announced themselves to the community.

Northeast Kingdom Asylum Seekers Assistance Network (NEKASAN) has been helping those who flee their home countries due to violence and fear and enter the United States.

“We welcome people and families who have fled violence and probable death by their government,” said NEKASAN co-founder Libby Hillhouse of Danville during the meeting. “To a person, they have endured extreme trauma and seek only safety and the possibility of a secure future.” …

WINOOSKI — Woven fibers and written stories tie past immigrants to recent refugees in a unique crowd-sourced art project that’s now in Vermont.

Sixty quilts pinned with welcome notes are on display at the Heritage Winooski Mill Museum through February. But unlike a typical exhibit, the works of art will be given away at the end of the show. 

The quilts and stories are part of a national art project called Welcome Blanket. It involves local residents stitching, knitting, crocheting quilts – an American tradition – to welcome new immigrants…

Patrolled by drug traffickers and armed bandits, the Darien Gap is a prominent route to North America – and one of the most dangerous.

Migrants no longer have to wait in Mexico for a court hearing in the US.
That’s been the case for asylum seekers since 2019 when the Trump administration introduced Migrant Protection Protocols or MPP.  
The policy is more commonly referred to as “Remain in Mexico” and the Biden administration has been trying to end it since last year…