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ICE study update: Chester County cooperates less with feds than research initially indicated

The report found that many local governments in Pennsylvania, including some in the Philadelphia suburbs, use their local manpower to actively assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

County cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents was a focus of a recent study by the Sheller Center at Temple University and the Latino activist group Juntos.
County cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents was a focus of a recent study by the Sheller Center at Temple University and the Latino activist group Juntos.Read moreTNS

The Sheller Center for Social Justice at Temple University issued an update to its recent study on county and municipal government cooperation with federal immigration authorities, indicating that Chester County offers less assistance than originally described.

The report found that many local governments in Pennsylvania, including some in the Philadelphia suburbs, use their manpower to actively assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. In an email to the Sheller Center, the update said, Chester County Deputy Solicitor Kristen Mayock said the report did not accurately portray some county policies.

Mayock said Chester County does not detain people or keep them in custody based solely on a formal request from ICE. The update said Chester County denied that its officials have expressed interest in a closer, formal relationship with ICE.

The original Sheller study, completed with the Latino activist group Juntos and released June 25, said Chester County led several suburban Philadelphia counties in its cooperation; the update indicates it cooperates roughly as much as Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware Counties.

Chester County does provide ICE with access to daily jail-population reports, the Sheller update noted, and also notifies ICE about an individual’s release, which the deputy solicitor wrote “protects the safety and welfare of county residents.”

The Sheller Center said its information on Chester County came from ICE, via FOI requests filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.