Montco commissioners face pressure to do more after issuing an anti-ICE promise

Montgomery County officials promised residents Wednesday they would not deputize county employees to perform federal immigration enforcement. But the county’s Democratic commissioners indicated an ordinance putting the force of law behind that assurance won’t come in the immediate future despite weeks of demands from state and local activists.

For months, as President Donald Trump’s administration ramped up immigration enforcement, Montgomery County residents and immigration advocates have lobbied the county’s board of commissioners to become the first in the Philadelphia suburbs to adopt a welcoming county ordinance.

In response to those calls, Commissioners Jamila Winder and Neil Makhija published an opinion piece in The Inquirer outlining the county’s opposition to the controversial but voluntary 287(g) program which allows local police to assist ICE. The commissioners’ op-ed came after Bucks County, Republican Sheriff Fred Harran, a Republican, applied for the program; there had been little indication that Montgomery County’s Democratic sheriff, Sean Kilkenny, would do the same.

“No county employee will be deputized to perform federal immigration enforcement,” Makhija and Winder wrote. “We will honor ICE requests when accompanied by a judicial warrant.”

Immigration advocates welcomed the statement, but insisted it wasn’t enough.

“In order to be enforceable, in order for this to be trainable, to train your staff and to put your values further into action we need to have a welcoming county policy,” said Jasmine Rivera, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition. Her organization held a press conference to call for a welcoming city policy following the county’s board of commissioners meeting on Thursday.

Advocates have specifically asked for a welcoming county policy that would bar all county employees from collaborating with ICE without a warrant, commit to not allowing the agency to rent or buy county-owned property and commit to not collecting any information about residents immigration status. An ordinance, they said, was necessary to ensure the policy remains even if county leadership changes.

“A welcoming county policy it will, not only ensure that everyone has the constitutional protections, but also create a safer, more inclusive environment for everyone,” Mel Lee, the executive director of the Woori Center, a Lansdale-based organization that advocates for Asian Americans, said in an interview earlier this week. She noted that many in her community were afraid and dramatically changing their lifestyles to avoid immigration authorities.

“I think this will release, at least relieve, some of the fears and people will come out of their home again.”

Ahmet Tekelioglu, the executive director of CAIR-Philadelphia, said Wednesday that rejecting 287(g) was a low bar that glossed over past actions to assist ICE by the county’s prisons and probation officers. Makhija told reporters Wednesday that the county prisons would not be used for ICE under current county leadership.

Welcoming or sanctuary policies have been implemented in Philadelphia, Allegheny County and Allentown, but the Trump administration recently threatened to strip federal funding from communities with those policies.

Winder said Wednesday there were legal barriers to an ordinance in Montgomery County. But discussions about it, she said, were still happening.

Montgomery County, Winder noted, had done more to speak out for immigrant rights than its neighboring communities. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has been consistently criticized for not vocally reasserting the city’s sanctuary status and leaders in the other suburban counties have not openly discussed welcoming county policies.

“We are working diligently behind the scenes through our office of immigrant affairs to pinpoint exact things we can do that ensure we are following the law as well as protecting our residents and key stakeholders,” Winder said.

As an initial step the county on Wednesday rolled out an immigrant resources web page which highlighted information about immigrants’ legal rights as well as details on county services and job applications. The published article and new web page, Winder said, was the county’s attempt to respond to activists’ calls for action.

Statements declaring support for immigrants and articulating policies that help them may make immigrants feel safer in communities, said Cris Ramon, a senior advisor for the national Latino rights organization UnidosUS, but the extent of it will depend on how much those immigrants trust the government to stick to its word even as administrations change over.

“The thing is it’s one thing to say it but you need to assure that the community you’re facing feels trust that you’ll uphold it,” he said.

Nelly Jimenez-Arevalo, Montgomery County’s first director of immigrant affairs who started in March, said she is working to do just that.

In her first weeks on the job, Jimenez-Arevalo said, she has worked across the county to assess where bilingual resources are needed and determine whether county service providers are asking residents unnecessary questions. She’s also talking to community members to determine what different immigrant communities need and inform them about county services, like the immigration resources web page.

Part of that, she said, is also ensuring people know what the county can and can’t do. That includes, she said, informing advocates and residents that the county has no jurisdiction over local law enforcement and whether they interact with ICE.

“People are scared so my role is, again, to connect them with the services they need to meet some of the needs that they have,” Jimenez-Arevalo said. “We also want to be careful in not misleading people that they are 100% safe because we do not have any weight on federal law.”

Wednesday’s opinion piece and the resource center, is the beginning of the county’s work to best support immigrant communities, Makhija said, noting that Jimenez-Arevalo had been with the county for less than two months.

“Advocates are always going to advocate for more. That’s their job, and I think it’s an important role,” Makhija said. “We in the government are always going to have to assess the legal implications, we’re going to have to assess the budgetary implications and weigh a number of factors anytime we make a decision. But we’re always going to be guided by what best serves the community.”