{"id":129775,"date":"2026-03-04T23:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T23:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/129775\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T23:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T23:05:08","slug":"gaughan-releases-confidential-legal-analysis-of-county-ice-ordinance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/129775\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaughan releases ‘confidential’ legal analysis of county ICE ordinance"},"content":{"rendered":"

SCRANTON \u2014 Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan failed Wednesday to convince his colleagues to waive attorney-client privilege and release a \u201cconfidential\u201d legal analysis of his proposed ordinance prohibiting county cooperation in federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n

Then he released it anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cAttorney-client privilege belongs to the clients, and I\u2019m one of the clients,\u201d Gaughan said shortly before emailing county Solicitor Paul James Walker\u2019s analysis of the so-called \u201cProtect Our Neighbors Act\u201d to several local journalists. The document \u2014 marked confidential and intended for \u201cinternal deliberative purposes only\u201d \u2014 \u201cexamines the potential consequences of adopting the sample ordinance provided for review\u201d and warns that its adoption \u201ccarries significant risks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese include limited commissioner authority to enact such measures, inability to bind independently elected Row Officers, exposure to litigation, potential criminal prosecution of officials, redundancy and conflict with existing laws, operational confusion, and ineffectiveness due to the absence of enforcement mechanisms,\u201d Walker wrote in the internal memo dated Wednesday.<\/p>\n

It comes a month after Gaughan proposed and provided a sample version of the ordinance<\/a>, which could not prevent federal agents from enforcing immigration law in the county. It aims instead to prohibit the county and its employees from cooperating in that enforcement, be it through information sharing or other means, unless presented with a valid judicial warrant signed by a judge.<\/p>\n

\"LackawannaLackawanna County Solicitor Paul James Walker speaks during the commissioners meeting held in the county government center in Scranton Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

Commissioners have not formally moved to introduce the legislation amid Walker\u2019s legal review, but it has been the subject of extensive commentary at recent commissioners meetings. That commentary continued at Wednesday\u2019s meeting, with public speakers overwhelmingly backing Gaughan\u2019s proposal, often on moral or religious grounds, while urging commissioners to pass the ordinance.<\/p>\n

Gaughan, a Democrat, made a motion that commissioners waive attorney-client privilege and publicly release Walker\u2019s legal analysis after public comment concluded. His motion died when neither Democratic Commissioner Thom Welby nor Republican Commissioner Chris Chermak offered to second it.<\/p>\n

In releasing it anyway Wednesday afternoon, Gaughan said the public has a right to review the legal analysis being used to shape public policy and that \u201cthe public interest requires transparency.\u201d He also provided a Feb. 11 analysis by Walker responding to questions Gaughan posed about the county\u2019s legal obligations regarding ICE.<\/p>\n

Among issues it raises, Walker\u2019s more-recent analysis says commissioners lack the authority to dictate policy to elected county row officers. It also warns the proposed legislation could result in civil litigation, as recent cases elsewhere \u201cshow the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) aggressively challenging \u2018sanctuary\u2019 policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, Walker warns that \u201crecent developments indicate that the DOJ is considering or directing criminal penalties against politicians and officials who enact or enforce ordinances limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese efforts frame such policies as potential violations of federal statutes, including harboring illegal aliens (8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1324), obstruction of justice (18 U.S.C. \u00a7 1501 et seq.), conspiracy against the U.S. (18 U.S.C. \u00a7 371), or racketeering (18 U.S.C. \u00a7 1961 et seq.),\u201d the solicitor wrote. \u201cA DOJ directive issued in January 2025 instructs federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially charge officials in \u2018sanctuary\u2019 jurisdictions for obstructing immigration enforcement, emphasizing noncompliance as a basis for prosecution under harboring or withholding provisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Gaughan made his ultimately unsuccessful motion at Wednesday\u2019s meeting to release the confidential memo, Walker advised \u201cthat we have internal discussions on that rather than take up a vote on that particular issue now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LackawannaLackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak looks on during the commissioners meeting held in the county government center in Scranton Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

Efforts to reach Chermak after Gaughan released the document were not immediately successful, but Welby said it demonstrates a \u201clack of respect for anything other than himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

It \u201calso speaks volumes as to our ability to share anything in confidence with him in the future,\u201d Welby said.<\/p>\n

Walker explained his rationale for not releasing it when reached by phone Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe memo is analyzing the framework of the proposed Protect Our Neighbors ordinance, and \u2026 doing so with a critical view in order to protect the whole county from the pitfalls that are addressed within it,\u201d Walker said. \u201cThe reason that I wanted to keep it confidential is because, if this was passed as written by the board, the memorandum provides a very very clear roadmap for challenges and criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that any member of this board that is serious about attempting to introduce laws or policy or procedure as it relates to how the county interacts with ICE, would not have shared this memorandum with the public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"LackawannaLackawanna County Commissioner Thom Welby looks on during the commissioners meeting held in the county government center in Scranton Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

During the meeting, Gaughan disagreed the analysis should be confidential and highlighted its \u201cextremely aggressive section that raises the specter of criminal prosecution for local officials.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not aware currently of a single elected official in this country who has ever been criminally prosecuted simply for \u2026 setting local policy boundaries on ICE cooperation,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t believe that legal risk should stop policy debate, and I believe even the solicitor acknowledges that ICE cooperation is voluntary under federal law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker wrote in his Feb. 11 analysis that the 10th Amendment \u201cprohibits the federal government from compelling state or local governments to enforce federal regulatory programs,\u201d and that Pennsylvania counties \u201chave discretion regarding cooperation with ICE detainers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commissioners took no official action on the ordinance Wednesday, but both Welby and Chermak said discussions about it will continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be done right the first time as far as I\u2019m concerned,\u201d Chermak said. \u201cAnd we need to look at what we can legally do, what we legally can\u2019t do, and \u2026 whatever we can do, we will discuss it and figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanking the public speakers, almost all of whom support Gaughan\u2019s ordinance, Welby said their \u201cpassion is felt\u201d while acknowledging the wheels of government sometimes turn slowly when it comes to the legislative process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are issues with the ordinance as it was submitted that are serious, and we do have to look at them,\u201d Welby said, noting a number of issues Walker raised in his confidential analysis. \u201cAnd we are, I believe today, going to meet with counsel and discuss this and hopefully work it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople stand against the wall in the crowded board room during the Lackawanna County Commissioners Meeting in the county government center in Scranton Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

Some of Wednesday\u2019s public speakers, including Elizabeth Aguilar of Taylor, shared personal anecdotes. Aguilar, a 37-year-old citizen born in California who moved with her family to Pennsylvania in the late 1990s, told commissioners of how her parents fled civil war in El Salvador and came to the U.S. \u201cillegally\u201d before securing protections from removal and eventually becoming citizens themselves.<\/p>\n

She described living in fear as a child that her parents would be taken away, fear she said she inherited from them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I am thankful for the sacrifice that my parents have made \u2026 to travel from El Salvador to California, even though it was not the right way,\u201d Aguilar said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t have the means. A lot of these immigrants don\u2019t have the means, otherwise they would do it the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody just wants to come here,\u201d she continued. \u201cThey want to work, they want to go to church, they want to send their kids to school, they want an opportunity that the United States has always said that (it) could provide to all immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON \u2014 Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan failed Wednesday to convince his colleagues to waive attorney-client privilege and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,139,28,178,180,179,729],"class_list":["post-129775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129775","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=129775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}