A proposed ordinance aiming to prohibit Lackawanna County’s cooperation in federal immigration enforcement is absent from Wednesday’s meeting agenda, likely marking another meeting without formal action on the legislation Commissioner Bill Gaughan proposed early last month.
Commissioners have yet to formally introduce the “Protect Our Neighbors Act” ordinance Gaughan proposed Feb. 4, though it has been the subject of largely supportive public commentary by residents and advocates who’ve backed it on moral and religious grounds. Those public commenters far outnumbered those who’ve publicly opposed the legislation, a sample version of which was the subject of recent legal review by the county solicitor’s office.
The ordinance, which could not and would not prevent federal agents from enforcing immigration law in the county, seeks instead to prohibit the county and its employees from cooperating with immigration-enforcement actions unless presented with a valid judicial warrant signed by a judge. The proposal would otherwise prohibit the county from sharing information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection agents and bar agents from either agency from using county facilities, information or equipment for investigative purposes related to immigration enforcement, among other features.
But Solicitor Paul James Walker wrote in a recent confidential memo to commissioners that adopting the sample ordinance Gaughan provided “carries significant risks” for the county, including possible exposure to civil litigation and even the “potential criminal prosecution of officials.” He also noted commissioners lack authority to dictate policy to independent county row officers, such as the elected sheriff and district attorney.
Walker’s memo would not be public but for Gaughan’s controversial decision to unilaterally release it to the media. He did so the afternoon of Feb. 4, after failing that morning to convince fellow Commissioners Thom Welby and Chris Chermak to waive attorney-client privilege and release Walker’s legal analysis in the interest of transparency.
Welby later said Gaughan’s decision to release the document demonstrated a “lack of respect.” Walker said he wanted the memo to remain confidential because, if commissioners ultimately adopt the sample ordinance as written, his analysis “provides a very very clear roadmap for challenges and criticism.”
It’s unclear whether commissioners will eventually introduce and entertain some version of the ordinance Gaughan continues to push, but it promises to remain a source of passionate discussion at Wednesday’s meeting and future sessions.
Montgomery County commissioners, meanwhile, adopted earlier this month a resolution prohibiting the use of county-owned property and resources for civil immigration enforcement. Similar to Gaughan’s proposal, the Montgomery County resolution also reaffirms that county employees “shall not assist in immigration enforcement operations unless required by law and supported by a lawful judicial warrant or subpoena,” per a Montgomery County press release.
It “does not restrict or interfere with the execution of lawful judicial warrants or the enforcement of criminal law,” the release notes.
Wednesday’s Lackawanna County commissioners meeting at the county government center in downtown Scranton begins at 10 a.m. The agenda is available online at lackawannacounty.org.