SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) \u2014 Dozens of residents packed Wednesday’s meeting in Lackawanna County amid confusion over a proposed ordinance that would limit the county\u2019s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. While commissioners say the measure is still under legal review and was not up for a vote, the debate drew emotional testimony on both sides.<\/p>\n
Rumors circulating online claimed a so-called \u201cProtect Our Neighbors\u201d ordinance would be considered Wednesday. County officials clarified beforehand that the proposal is still being reviewed by the law department and is not up for proposal at this time.<\/p>\n
Still, dozens showed up to weigh in.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Bill Gaughan, who introduced a draft version of the ordinance earlier this month, says the measure would not change federal immigration law.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does not change immigration law. It\u2019s a local policy about county cooperation and civil liberties. It\u2019s not a rewrite of federal law,\u201d Gaughan said.<\/p>\n
He added the county cannot remove ICE from the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe county cannot kick ICE out and that\u2019s not what this legislation is calling for. It simply says county employees won\u2019t do ICE\u2019s job for them without proper legal authority. God forbid we ask for a warrant and make sure that it\u2019s legal. It does not protect people who have criminal warrants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the speakers was Sarah Balmer of Covington Township, who told commissioners she and her husband adopted their daughter, Lily Mei Balmer, from China in 2009. Balmer said they were lifelong Republicans who recently grew uncomfortable with ICE\u2019s tactics.<\/p>\n
She described a November 29th incident where she and her daughter, now a senior at Scranton Preparatory School, witnessed what she called \u201carmed men in tactical vests\u201d approaching a home.<\/p>\n
Balmer says they first had their daughter keep photos of her passport and certificate of citizenship on her phone, but after hearing reports of phones being seized, she now carries her physical passport.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe live in the United States of America. We are a nation of immigrants. My daughter is a beautiful, intelligent, kind and gentle human being. She\u2019s a senior in high school. She is the absolute light and joy in our life. She belongs here,\u201d Balmer said.<\/p>\n
Supporters argued the county should not use local resources to assist federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 10th amendment also states that they can\u2019t commandeer our local resources to their job. That\u2019s a fact, right? That doesn\u2019t mean that my tax dollars for Lackawanna County need to be used to do your bidding. It\u2019s just not the way that it operates. I\u2019m paying enough in federal taxes to have these guys going around in masks,\u201d said Dunmore resident Breeda Cronin Holmes.<\/p>\n
But others strongly opposed the ordinance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese ICE people are not going after immigrants. They\u2019re going after very ugly people. rapists that could break into your house and rape your child. Yeah they are!\u201d said Peckville resident Len Dobrzyn.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Thom Welby stressed no decision has been made.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is currently being studied by our law department We aren\u2019t going to make that decision until we have the information that we need to make a fair and educated decision,\u201d Welby said. He added that if ICE belongs anywhere, he believes it\u2019s at the southern border, not in northeastern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Chris Chermak emphasized immigration enforcement is ultimately a federal responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are some of the issues we can tackle head on. Immigration policy is definitely a federal matter,\u201d Chermak said. \u201cOur solicitors are looking into how to handle potential situations without overstepping into areas beyond our legal control.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposal remains under review, with no timeline for when, or if, it could return to the agenda. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) \u2014 Dozens of residents packed Wednesday’s meeting in Lackawanna County amid confusion over a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-117623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-scranton","9":"tag-scranton-headlines","10":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}