A resolution aimed at establishing a protocol for cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement failed in a deadlocked vote after a heated debate during Whitehall Township\u2019s Board of Commissioners meeting Monday night.<\/p>\n
The resolution, which would have effectively barred township staff and personnel from participating in civil immigration enforcement except in instances required by law, failed in a 3-3 vote, with one commissioner absent from the meeting.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Taylor Stakes, who crafted the resolution, said the intent was \u201cto protect our officers, our township and our taxpayers\u201d in uncertain times.<\/p>\n
The resolution would have prevented using township resources to assist in civil immigration enforcement activities, including arresting or detaining individuals on the basis of an immigration warrant or immigration detainer, unless required by federal or state law, or pursuant to a judicial warrant, subpoena or court order. It also limited township personnel from inquiring about citizenship or immigration status unless compelled to do so by federal law.<\/p>\n
However, it did not outright ban information sharing with federal agents when it is permitted or otherwise required by law.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the resolution would not prohibit township personnel from cooperating with federal authorities on criminal investigations, execution of warrants, or matters involving immediate threats to public safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat this resolution does is very simple: It states that Whitehall Township resources should not be used for voluntary federal immigration enforcement unless required by law,\u201d Stakes said as he introduced the legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat distinction matters. Federal courts have repeatedly affirmed that under the anti-commandeering doctrine, federal government cannot require local governments to enforce federal law unless Congress has has already authorized it, specifically authorized it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stakes said police Chief Michael Marks had said his department did not have a working relationship with ICE, but the resolution\u2019s adoption would ensure that was the policy moving forward, regardless of who was serving as chief.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Ken Snyder, however, made a point to read an email from Marks to Commissioner Lee Christman, which characterized the resolution as \u201cunnecessary, and, quite frankly, unenforceable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Snyder and Christman said they would not support the resolution based on their experience in the community and their opinion of the chief. Christman and Stakes also argued over whether the resolution could be enforced.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve talked to people who have litigated this same thing in court. The police chief has never litigated this in court,\u201d Stakes said.<\/p>\n
When Stakes asked what the harm was in permitting the mayor and police chief from creating a policy \u2014 which they would have done alongside the township solicitor if the measure passed \u2014 Snyder said the issue was a matter of personal positions, which he felt he did not have to defend.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Randy Atiyeh agreed the resolution was unnecessary, stating he would not vote in favor of it.<\/p>\n
Board President Jeffrey Warren stated he felt the legislation would help protect police, citing a case in which Pennsylvania State Police created their own policy for \u201chow they will handle matters where the detainer is out of their control.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Christman stated again that Marks, along with several commissioners, had issues with the legislation during a workshop meeting, Stakes stressed the resolution would simply codify what was already happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s already abiding by it. He\u2019s already saying that he\u2019s not cooperating with ICE. Our police department does not cooperate with ICE \u2026 It codifies the policy that\u2019s already in place. That\u2019s all that we\u2019re doing,\u201d Stakes said.<\/p>\n
Resident Stephanie Falcone spoke in favor of the resolution, stating it \u201creinforces the role of trust and communication between residents, local government and law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI encourage you to consider the voices that you represent who cannot be here today, and that passing this resolution goes a long way towards cementing trust in our elected officials and in one another as neighbors and friends,\u201d Falcone said.<\/p>\n
Once it went back to the board, commissioners continued to show that compromise on the matter was out of the question, with Stakes, Warren and Commissioner Thomas Slonakervoting in favor, and Atiyeh, Christman, and Snyder voting against.<\/p>\n
Brian Myszkowski is a freelance writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A resolution aimed at establishing a protocol for cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement failed in a deadlocked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,433,182,139,28,432,1654],"class_list":["post-134395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-lehigh-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-tmc","tag-whitehall-township"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134395","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=134395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}