Philly City Council will consider limiting ICE next month as new Pa. detention centers loom

Philadelphia City Council next month will consider legislation to place some limits on immigration enforcement in the city and is planning a daylong hearing to parse the proposals.

Council President Kenyatta Johnson, a Democrat who controls the flow of legislation in the chamber, said he has scheduled a hearing to take place at 10 a.m. on April 6 before the Committee of the Whole, which comprises all 17 Council members.

That means every lawmaker will have the opportunity to question members of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration, as well as immigration advocates, about the package.

The timeline means mid-April is the earliest that Council could pass the package. Fifteen of the body’s 17 members have expressed support, and that constitutes a veto-proof majority.

City Councilmembers Rue Landau, a Democrat, and Kendra Brooks, of the progressive Working Families Party, sponsored the legislation introduced in January, which prohibits ICE agents from wearing masks, bans them from staging raids on city property, and makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based on immigration status.

The legislation also clarifies how and when Philadelphia officials can coordinate with federal immigration enforcement.

» READ MORE: Unmasking ICE in Philly could test the limits of local power over federal agents

Parker has said an executive order signed by her predecessor remains in place, limiting some cooperation between law enforcement and ICE. But the legislation that Council is considering goes further, codifying a prohibition on city officials assisting ICE and prohibiting data-sharing agreements.

It comes as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is undergoing a revamping to its leadership structure. President Donald Trump on Thursday ousted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and said he intends to nominate U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R, Okla.) to replace her.

» READ MORE: John Fetterman is already backing Donald Trump’s pick to replace Kristi Noem as DHS secretary

At the same time, Democrats across Pennsylvania, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, continue to denounce ICE, including the agency’s plans to develop two immigration detention centers outside the city.

Several local officials said this week that they’re worried the federal government will surge enforcement efforts in Philadelphia in order to fill the centers, and that the city must move quickly to pass its legislation.

“I’m extremely concerned,” said City Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, a Democrat whose North Philadelphia-based district has a large immigrant population. “We need to really figure out what our position is as it relates to working with ICE very closely. We have community residents that we should be protecting.”

The Trump administration this year quietly spent millions of dollars buying warehouses in two dozen communities across the country.

Two are in Pennsylvania and could reportedly hold about 9,000 beds in total.

Spotlight PA reported Tuesday that ICE is referring to a facility in Tremont, located in Schuylkill County, as the “New ICE Philadelphia Mega Center” and one in Upper Bern Township in Berks County as the “New ICE Philadelphia Processing Center.”

Landau said Council is “paying close attention to these developments and the questions they raise about the expansion of detention facilities in our area.”

“The majority of Philadelphians are deeply disturbed by ICE’s tactics,” she said.

Johnson said in an interview last month that the detention centers are a reason to move swiftly on the ICE-related legislation.

The proposed laws, he said, are a means to “be out in front” of a potential surge of immigration enforcement in the city.

“Some people say, ‘Well, they’re not even here yet.’ But they just built a warehouse in [Berks County],’” Johnson said. “I believe that was strategic. It took some planning to say ‘We want to set up shop right in your backyard.’”