The number estimates of Delaware County residents being detained by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency vary widely, although the figures also seem to be ramping up.
“From October to December, we had about 30 to 40 reports,” Upper Darby Township Councilman Kyle McIntyre said of people being detained.
During this past week, McIntyre said there was one day that two people were detained in Upper Darby and another where four people were taken.
Other state and federal officials have said up to 300 people have been detained in Upper Darby alone in the past year.
ICE could not be reached for comment regarding the numbers or any other aspect of the agency’s operations in Upper Darby.
Desi Burnette, the statewide coordinator for the Movement of Immigrant Leaders in Pennsylvania (MILPA), said there has been heightened activity in Delaware County.
“We’ve definitely been seeing an incremental number in detentions and arrests,” she said, adding, “They are across (Delaware) County pretty regularly.”
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5, of Swarthmore, visited the Philadelphia Detention Center on Thursday to assess conditions and to inquire about a number of issues, including the death of Parady La of Upper Darby while being held in custody. La had come to the United States from Cambodia with his family when he was a toddler.
“We thought it was important given the fact that one of our constituents had died in the facility that we get in there one way or another,” Scanlon said of the facility tour she took, including the unit where people are being detained.
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)
“The top takeaway is going to be even though people are detained by immigration enforcement, less than 30 to 40 percent of them have criminal backgrounds,” the congresswoman said. “They’re sweeping up anyone they can get their hands on.”
As people go through the immigration process, they have check-ins they must make with federal officials and Scanlon said people are being picked up on the way to these check-ins.
“People who are actually following the rules,” she said, adding, “Even if there’s a technical violation, it’s a civil issue. It’s as if you get a traffic ticket and you get sent to federal prison.”
There, she said, inmates and detainees are treated the same.
“Part of the purpose of going down there (was) to get better information about how the process working,” she said, as well as how people can get in touch with their relatives.
Scanlon said her office is aware that people who are concerned about being detained are putting together their papers, but she also asked them to fill out a privacy release form, so her office and other advocates can inquire about them and get information about them if they are detained.
“The system has not been incredibly forthcoming,” she said.
Asked what the detention center was like, the congresswoman explained.
“It’s a federal prison that’s being used as a temporary holding center,” Scanlon said. “This is not something that this prison was doing before February of last year.”
She spoke to the people in detention.
“It really brought home the fact that people are being treated as criminals when they are not criminals,” Scanlon said.
The congresswoman said she was “very concerned by the willful ignorance of due process.”
She called upon the public to call their lawmakers as the funding for ICE is being considered, along with parameters for that agency.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Scanlon said.
Based on U.S. Census statistics from 2024, 11.2% of Delaware County’s 584,882 residents are foreign born and in Upper Darby, 23.5% of the township’s 86,045 residents are foreign born.
Parady La, 46, Upper Darby, died of apparent withdrawal symptoms while in federal custody earlier this month. Above, with his daughter Jazmine in an undated photo. (COURTESY OF THE LA FAMILY)
McIntyre explained that Upper Darby has always had an ICE presence due to its large immigrant community.
“If they’re coming in with a judicial warrant and communicating with our police department, of course we want to protect people,” he said.
That used to be approximately a once-a-month occurrence, he said.
“We saw a distinct shift starting around September,” McIntyre said. “It quickly began to ramp up … ICE is knocking on people’s doors. ICE is detaining people on the street, picking people off of their workplaces.”
He said advocates have fought for accountability and reform and have seen success with police departments such as Upper Darby and Sharon Hill.
However, he said federal agents’ actions have jeopardized local police.
“The law has become a suggestion under the federal government,” McIntyre said. “This has done nothing but harm the reputation of our local law enforcement. Upper Darby has done a lot of work. They do a decent job.”
Township Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt confirmed that ICE has had a presence in Upper Darby and Delaware County for many years.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt at the microphone at a news conference. Bernhardt says “Our relationship with ICE is professional and work-related. While I would welcome more communication, limited information sharing has long been a challenge across law enforcement agencies and is not new.” (PETE BANNAN – DAILY TIMES)
“That is not new,” he said. “In the past, they often notified our department when they were operating in the township, but that notification has not always been consistent. This is not unique to ICE, as other federal agencies have also operated in town without advance notice. Federal agencies are not required to notify us. We continue to maintain professional working relationships with all federal partners.”
He described the township police department’s relationship with ICE.
“Our relationship with ICE is professional and work-related,” Bernhardt said. “While I would welcome more communication, limited information sharing has long been a challenge across law enforcement agencies and is not new.”
The superintendent said he does not have numbers on how may people have been detained by ICE in Upper Darby.
“I do not have confirmed or factual numbers on how many people have been detained or arrested by ICE in Upper Darby,” he said. “I do not speculate on numbers. ICE does not share this information with us. When possible, the department attempts to track our own confirmed interactions, but we cannot verify photos or videos unless we can authenticate. What I can say is that ICE has been active in the township, but I do not have details on the number of operations or detentions.”
The superintendent said he and Mayor Ed Brown have conversations routinely.
“Our message has been consistent,” Bernhardt said. “The mayor and I speak regularly about public safety and maintaining Upper Darby as a safe community for everyone. We want all residents to feel welcome and secure, regardless of where they are from. Our responsibility is to enforce state laws, court orders, and local ordinances. Immigration enforcement is not the role of the Upper Darby Police Department.”
Upper Darby Councilman Kyle McIntyre speaking recently to Delaware County Council. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)
McIntyre said ICE’s actions have caused fear within the community.
“Most Upper Darbyians are living under terror,” McIntyre said. “We’ve had dozens of families ripped apart. We had many kids, their parents are afraid to send them to school. We’ve had children left at home. People don’t even think about the pets … Most of the time, (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) doesn’t give them an opportunity to speak with a loved one. It’s very difficult to locate individuals, so they just go missing.
Upper Darby Township Councilman David Bantoe, whose district covers the 69th Street area, said he is trying to audit his community right now.
“I drive around, talk to business owners, talk to ordinary people,” he said. “They talk to me. I base my information from that. Based on what we are hearing form the township administration, people are calling (and saying) ICE was spotted in some parts of Upper Darby in the West Chester Pike area.”
Like McIntyre, he said township police worked to build trust with the residents.
“(What) is concerning is ICE is not working with the police,” Bantoe said. “For me, I am looking at the public safety of this whole thing. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been in place for years and years and years. The difference is the tactics in enforcing the law.”
Both councilman spoke about the impacts on their community.
“A lot of people are afraid,” Bantoe said. “They are afraid to go to the store.”
Senior residents, he said, are afraid to call people to come and clean the snow.
McIntyre said he gets reports daily on individuals being detained in the township.
Scanlon said the focus is on certain groups.
“There seems to be a targeting of the breadwinners,” she said.
McIntyre added to that sentiment, “They’re trying to starve people out so they self-deport.”
Plus, he said, “We’ve recently seen teens targeted. We’ve started to see targeting of youth. You send your kid to school, they may not come home. In what society is that just?”
Both councilman addressed the issue on a larger scale.
As one of the most diverse communities in Pennsylvania, McIntyre said, “We have a duty in this state to do everything that’s in our power.
Upper Darby Council member David Bantoe. (COURTESY PHOTO)
When it comes to immigrants, its one of those few things we have a duty and responsibility to do everything. An attack on our immigrants is an attack on Upper Darby ourselves.”
Bantoe said he encourages constituents to reach out to him in times of uncertainty.
“I’m from a background of 14 years of civil war,” the Liberian native said. “Coming to this country as a refugee, to see something like this it takes my memory back. we suffered to come here.
“We have to work our way through this together,” he concluded.
Burnette said resources need to placed elsewhere, such as health care and housing.
“All of the needs that we have in Delaware County. We don’t have hospitals in Delaware County, salaries aren’t going up, people can’t afford houses, food,” she said.
Burnette explained that her organization, MILPA, has been fighting for families’ rights regardless of immigration status for more than 13 years, from expanding access to drivers’ licenses to calling on the public to reach out to the governor to end all collaboration of the mass deportation campaign.
“In Delaware County, we’re just hearing more and more people seeing this and we want it to stop,” she said of the detentions. “People in the community are tired of it and we are standing together … Immigrant families or workers across the U.S. have been fighting for so many years … for a path to citizenship that so many immigrant communities prior have had.”
Actions are being taken.
State lawmakers have introduced a series of legislation in both the House and Senate that would put restrictions on ICE activities in Pennsylvania, such as requiring identification and prohibiting their faces to be masked and prohibiting ICE arrests within 1,000 feet of a courthouse or Commonwealth property.
“Pennsylvania should pass these bills, but we need to be realistic that in a divided Legislature, that is not going to happen,” state Sen. Tim Kearney, D-26 of Swarthmore said. “Americans need to organize in their communities to protect their neighbors and stand up for their rights. And yes, they need to continue to call their federal representatives, and work to elect people at all levels of government who represent their values.”
In a message to constituents, state Rep. Heather Boyd, D-163, of Upper Darby said, “ICE’s practices have sown fear in our neighborhoods, separated families, and undermined trust between residents and local institutions. When parents are afraid to drive to work, when victims are afraid to report crimes, and when children worry that a knock on the door could tear their family apart, public safety suffers for everyone.
“We can uphold the rule of law without abandoning our values. Enforcement that lacks transparency, due process, and basic humanity is not justice.”
An observer training scheduled for Saturday by the advocacy group U.D.T.J. filled up within 24 hours and had a waitlist of approximately 200 people after that. Groups like Delco Indivisible are also holding observer trainings.
“In our communities, there’s a lot people can do,” Scanlon said, as she encouraged people to support civil rights and immigration organizations like MILPA and Centro de Apoyo Comunitario.
She spoke of the difference these observers can have.
“I’ve been to hearings in Minnesota and Chicago,” the congresswoman said. “In both of those places, it was the video evidence provided by the bystanders that had the courts change.
She reiterated, however, that people need to be peaceful as they document.
“We don’t want anyone crossing that line and getting hurt,” Scanlon said.
McIntyre agreed.
“I encourage all residents: If you see something, say something,” he said. “Be safe to the best of your ability.”
McIntyre also urged the public to support immigrants by buying from their stores and donating to food pantries like Murphy’s Giving Market.
“Our immigrant community could use a lot of support and especially the businesses,” he said. “So many people can’t come outside. We need people to brave the weather and come down here and buy the tamales, enjoy some pho. That really, really matters.”