HUMSI — Human Security Initiative

Human Impact Project

A living database documenting reported immigration enforcement incidents and their human impact.

Vermont school superintendent detained by border agents, devices searched; probe sought

Jul 24, 2025·Location: Burlington, VT

Country of origin: Nicaragua

Vermont school superintendent detained by border agents, devices searched; probe sought
Photo via WBUR

A Nicaraguan-born superintendent of Winooski schools, a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2018, was detained for nearly five hours at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport while returning from visiting family in Nicaragua with his U.S.-born husband. Agents questioned him about his citizenship, marriage and profession, and pressed him for passwords to his personal and district-issued devices; his husband was not told where he was being held or for how long. After the devices were searched, he was released, and his Global Entry membership was later revoked without explanation. Vermont leaders and advocacy groups are now calling for an investigation into the incident, which follows other recent detentions of immigrants in the state.

Suggest a correction, comment, or update

Sources

More incidents in Vermont