Dozens of organizations are urging Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration to meet with immigrant groups and take swift action to implement Philadelphia’s “ICE Out” laws.
On Tuesday, members of several local organizations — including New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, Make the Road Pennsylvania, Asian Americans United, Juntos and the National Domestic Workers Alliance Pennsylvania Chapter — delivered a letter to the city’s Law Department demanding a meeting to discuss the implementation of the “ICE Out” legislative package, which City Council passed in late April, Parker signed into law in early May.
The laws went into effect on July 7. The legislative package has five key provisions:
Ending All ICE Collaboration: Prohibits the city from entering 287(g) contracts, honoring ICE detainers, or providing local assistance for federal immigration interrogations and raids.
Securing Data Privacy: Prevents the city from sharing sensitive databases, datasets, or personal information with federal agencies for immigration enforcement purposes.
Protecting Community Spaces: Requires judicial warrants for ICE to access non-public city facilities—including hospitals, libraries, and recreation centers—and bans the use of city property for ICE staging or arrests.
Stopping Discrimination: Establishes immigration and citizenship status as protected classes under the Fair Practices Ordinance to prohibit discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations.
Banning Deceptive Tactics: Ensures transparency by prohibiting law enforcement from wearing masks or using unmarked vehicles to obscure their identities during public interactions.
Representatives from the organizations said there is confusion over how the city is implementing the laws. In the letter, they demand that officials meet with directly impacted community members and immigrant organizations by July 31 and clarify key implementation details by Aug. 7.
“We have been doing trainings and people don’t know these bills are in effect. They don’t know what protections they have and when they ask us, we don’t know. We can’t tell them what the City’s doing and not doing,” said Vivian Chang, with Asian Americans United.
The coalition is demanding:
Immediate training for all City employees
Required signage in City facilities
A clear and accessible process for reporting and addressing violations
Identification of the department responsible for implementation
Public benchmarks and deadlines for full compliance
Regular public reporting on the City’s progress
Read the full letter addressed to the mayor below.
The coalition’s letter comes just over a month after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia challenging the legislation.
The lawsuit was filed against the City of Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle Parker, District Attorney Larry Krasner, and City Solicitor Renee Garcia. Federal officials said the city’s legislation is an “unconstitutional” attempt to regulate federal law enforcement officers by “criminally prohibiting federal officers from wearing masks, requiring individual identifiers, and prohibiting the use of unmarked vehicles in the city.”
The City of Philadelphia declined to comment on the lawsuit, but told NBC10 in June that they were in the process of reviewing it.
NBC10 reached out to the City for more information regarding the implementation of the legislative package.