Allegheny County Council members are seeking information about how and whether some county employees might be cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The concerns came up at a public safety committee meeting on Thursday, where members discussed a bill that could permanently bar elected officials and county employees from cooperating with ICE unless ordered to do so by a federal judge.
The bill would forbid county agencies from entering into any agreements to enforce federal immigration law. It would also prohibit county employees from sharing county resources with ICE, whether those consist of funding, resources, or information. Council member Bethany Hallam and five co-sponsors introduced the legislation last month amid heightened fears over increased ICE activity, both nationally and locally. A sixth co-sponsor has since joined.
Members spent more than 30 minutes in an executive session, which was closed to the public, to discuss the bill with their solicitor.
During a later public discussion, Hallam said she has seen sheriff’s deputies assisting ICE agents in the county courthouse.
Hallam described incidents in which “ICE is showing up in very coincidental situations” related to the courts, but acknowledged there is “no concrete proof” or paper trail proving cooperation. But she noted that many county employees have access to citizenship information and expressed concerns about whether they could be surreptitiously sharing information with immigration agents.
Sheriff Kevin Kraus previously told WESA that deputies “do not participate in immigration enforcement” and said the office “has never sequestered any individual as a precursor to or as part of federal immigration enforcement.” However, a spokesperson for the office confirmed that immigration officers do notify the sheriff’s department in advance when they plan to enter a county building.
Council member Suzanne Filiaggi, the lone Republican on council, said the lack of record-keeping on the issue made it difficult to determine just how widespread cooperation could be.
“Is it systemic or one-offs in different instances?” she asked. She also raised concerns that county interference with the issue could jeopardize future federal funding.
Council members aired a number of such questions during the meeting, though there were few answers to be had: Council members said they had to constrain their remarks outside the executive session.
Hallam, for one, questioned whether contracted employees working for the county have access to citizenship information, and if they would be bound by the bill, should it pass.
Council president Pat Catena added that he wants additional information about existing county policies governing interactions with ICE. Current policies already forbid Allegheny County Police from working alongside ICE, and that current Allegheny County Jail policy holds that they will not honor “detainers” from the agency, which ask a holding facility to extend detention of inmates so they can be taken into custody by immigration enforcement officials.
But while such policies are already in place, they are not yet enshrined in law and thus could be easier to change. Some members expressed concerns that some employees may be skirting the rules.
“I think this is our opportunity to try to get some of that information,” Catena said.
“We have not been getting very straight answers” from county officials and row offices, said council member Alex Rose. “I would like straight answers.”
The committee will meet again next Thursday at 4 p.m. to continue the discussion.