Why Montgomery County won’t deputize our officials as ICE agents

Milwaukee County, Wis., Judge Hannah Dugan was outside her own courthouse when FBI agents handcuffed her last month, accusing her of assisting an undocumented defendant evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who did not present a judicial warrant. Moments later, Sheriff Fred Harran, in our neighboring Bucks County, bragged on the radio that his deputies would soon be deputized to help ICE enforce misguided immigration orders under a newly minted 287(g) agreement — a program the administration is pushing to expand.

The message from the federal government is unmistakable: Fall in line with the deportation machine, or risk prosecution. As county commissioners representing the nearly one million residents of Montgomery County, we’re taking a different path. We will not sign a 287(g) agreement, and our stance is rooted in constitutional principle, public safety, and fiscal responsibility.

Three decades of U.S. Supreme Court precedent establish that the president cannot draft state and local officials into implementing federal policy. In New York v. United States (1992), Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote that “the Federal Government may not compel the States to enact or administer a federal regulatory program.” Justice Antonin Scalia reinforced this principle in Printz v. United States (1997): “The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the States’ officers …” These weren‘t liberal activists, but jurists who recognized federalism and states’ rights as cornerstones of our constitutional system.

We’ve seen this legal principle validated in practice. During President Donald Trump‘s first term, the City of Philadelphia took the administration to court when it tried to revoke public safety grants over the city’s refusal to use local resources for federal immigration enforcement. Philadelphia won that case in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the courts haven‘t moved the goalposts since then.

This isn‘t just about our legal authority. Here’s why we’re standing up for our communities.

Here in Montgomery County, residents consistently report that increased deportation actions have made them less willing to call police or emergency services out of fear, and less likely to come forward as witnesses to crimes. This undermines the community trust that every police officer needs to pursue justice effectively for all residents.

When traffic stops become de facto immigration checks, we create a subset of residents forced to live further in the shadows. This doesn‘t enhance public safety — it compromises it. Research supports this concern: Immigrants, regardless of status, are already less likely to commit crimes, according to a recent analysis by the conservative Cato Institute. Turning officers into ICE deputies would undermine years of community-centered policing efforts that have made Montgomery County safer.

As county commissioners, we’re responsible for making sound financial decisions. This administration‘s mass deportation plan would cost nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, with state and local governments bearing the burden to deploy 20,000 deputized agents. In Montgomery County alone, the financial impact would be devastating — funds would be diverted from essential services to pursue a federal priority that doesn‘t align with our community’s needs. For context, this money could instead fund critical local priorities: expanding mental health services, improving our aging infrastructure, or strengthening our public schools. For that price tag nationally, we could ensure universal access to preschool and childcare for all families and hire five mental health counselors in every one of America‘s roughly 100,000 public schools. And we’d still come out ahead with billions to spare. We refuse to commit our limited county resources to an unfunded federal mandate that would drain our budget while making our community less secure.

The reality we see daily in Montgomery County contradicts the administration‘s rhetoric. Our immigrant communities are vital economic and cultural contributors. Without immigrants, Pennsylvania would face a rapidly aging population, unable to meet its workforce needs. Immigrants create jobs, pay taxes, and revitalize neighborhoods throughout our county.

This isn‘t just rhetoric — it‘s why we’ve invested in concrete support for our immigrant communities. Montgomery County hired our first director of immigrant affairs to ensure every resident can thrive in our county. We’ve translated essential government documents into nine languages so every resident can fully access civic life. We’ve committed $10 million to enhance community centers serving Latino and Asian American and Pacific Islander residents in Norristown and North Wales because we recognize that our immigrant communities are integral to Montgomery County’s future.

In Montgomery County, we’re committed to upholding the rule of law while protecting the rights of all residents. No county employee will be deputized to perform federal immigration enforcement. We will honor ICE requests when accompanied by a judicial warrant. Federal agencies have their role, and we have ours. When those roles blur, both democratic accountability and community safety suffer.

The arrest of Judge Dugan appears designed to silence dissent and intimidate local officials. Standing up is harder when others are silent, but silence is exactly what these crackdowns aim to produce.

Montgomery County won‘t be quiet. We invite every jurisdiction that values constitutional principles, fiscal responsibility, and community safety to join us in resisting federal overreach. The fundamental American principle of local autonomy should not be abandoned in service of a misguided immigration agenda that makes our communities poorer, less safe, and more divided.

Neil Makhija and Jamila Winder are the chair and vice chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.