Harrisburg, Pa. — Pennsylvania lawmakers are backing a package of bills they said would protect immigrants’ safety and civil rights, even after the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship.
The proposals come as many immigrants in Pennsylvania still face detention and deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-Allegheny, said the legislation would protect sensitive spaces from ICE activity. She said some of her constituents are fearful ICE could show up at polling places during the general elections in November. Williams is a co-sponsor of the Protecting Our Vote Act, currently in the Senate State Government Committee, which would prevent voter harassment and intimidation by ICE at voting locations.
“It restricts all law enforcement from being within 100 feet of a voting location, both polls and ballot return sites for mail-in ballots, because being able to vote is a cornerstone of our democracy,” Williams explained.
Williams argued immigrants are important to Pennsylvania’s economy, from health care to food service, and deserve respect and protection.
Congress recently passed a $70 billion legislative package to significantly fund ICE and Border Patrol through the end of President Donald Trump’s term. The Trump administration contended continuing deportations are part of its efforts to enforce federal immigration law and strengthen enforcement.
Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia, said the state package of bills comes as the Trump administration expands enforcement. Saval noted his parents immigrated to the U.S. and about 1 million people living, working and building communities in Pennsylvania were born in other countries and came to the U.S. in search of better opportunities. He pointed out immigrants make up roughly 10% of the state’s workforce.
“They’re 12.5% of entrepreneurs, 17.2% of people working in science, technology, engineering, medicine, 16.2% of all health aides,” Saval outlined. “They pay $13.6 billion in taxes each year.”
Saval added data show 60% of immigrants arrested by ICE in one recent month had no criminal convictions or pending charges and one in three people detained in Pennsylvania were not the intended target. He is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 1139, now with the Judiciary Committee, which would limit local police cooperation with ICE, including 287(g) agreements, which let counties share information with federal immigration authorities.
“We want to limit the ability of these municipalities and county governments and police forces to create these agreements, in part because it departs from what they’re designed to do,” Saval emphasized.
Saval underscored polling shows most people oppose deportations, with eight in 10 Americans believing immigration is good for the country, nine in 10 believing in a pathway to citizenship, and 65% of people in the U.S. believing ICE has gone too far.