On Tuesday, January 27, a press conference was held at Philadelphia City Hall to announce the “ICE OUT” legislative package. The event brought together community leaders, elected officials, and immigrant rights advocates to publicly present the proposed measures and reaffirm a collective commitment to protecting immigrant communities in Philadelphia.
Advancing the “ICE OUT” legislative package in Philadelphia requires community mobilization. For that reason, organizers are calling on Wednesday, January 28, for community members to contact their City Council members and explain why it is essential to support the “ICE OUT” legislative package.
ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which in Spanish is translated as Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas.
On Thursday, January 29, at 8:30 a.m., the official presentation of the “ICE OUT” bills will take place at City Hall, on the fourth floor. City Hall is expected to be full, so attendees are encouraged to arrive early to ensure everyone can enter.
On Thursday, legislators must hold a hearing on the issue before it can be brought to a vote in approximately six weeks, according to the scheduled hearing date. It is not yet known whether a single hearing will be held for the entire package or whether multiple hearings will be required for the different bills.
Councilmembers Isaiah Thomas (Democrat, At-Large), Jamie Gauthier (Democrat, District 3), Nicolas O’Rourke (Working Families Party, At-Large), and Quetcy Lozada (Democrat, District 7) expressed their support for the legislation during Tuesday’s demonstration.
The package was developed in collaboration with immigrant advocacy groups, including the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, and Make the Road Pennsylvania.
Similar legislation has been introduced in Allentown, Reading, and in the Pennsylvania State Legislature.
The “ICE OUT” legislative package comprises bills introduced by Philadelphia Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Rue Landau to limit the activities of federal immigration authorities in the city.
The ICE OUT package emerged in response to recent violence and confrontations involving ICE agents in several cities, including Philadelphia. The legislation is based on similar laws passed in other cities and aims to protect the rights and safety of Philadelphia residents.
The package includes several key provisions designed to protect Philadelphia residents from ICE operations:
- Prohibits collaboration with ICE: Municipal agencies are prohibited from collaborating with ICE on data matters and from collecting or sharing personal data with the agency.
- Restricts access to public spaces: ICE would be barred from accessing public spaces such as libraries, shelters, health centers, and recreational centers without a judicial warrant.
- Prevents discrimination: The legislation prohibits discrimination or denial of services by the City, employers, housing providers, or private businesses based on citizenship or immigration status.
- Preserves “welcoming city” status: The package seeks to reinforce Philadelphia’s status as a “welcoming city” and to limit ICE’s presence in the city.
The ICE OUT legislation was introduced in four bills:
The first would prohibit Philadelphia-based ICE agents—who often wear masks and drive unmarked vehicles during raids—from concealing their identities. It would also require agents to display identification badges while operating in the field.
The second bill would prohibit city law enforcement agencies, such as the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD), from collaborating with ICE. The department would be barred from entering into 287(g) agreements, which allow ICE to delegate detention authority to local law enforcement officers. It would also codify a 2016 executive order signed by then-Mayor Michael Nutter that prohibited the Philadelphia Police Department from continuing to detain undocumented individuals on behalf of ICE in order to transfer them to immigration detention centers.
The third bill would codify a previously adopted City measure that ends information sharing between the City and ICE. In 2018, the administration of then-Mayor Jim Kenney declined to renew a data-sharing agreement between ICE and the PPD. That agreement granted ICE access to a city database containing arrest records, court cases, and other information. The third bill would also prohibit the City from collecting data on citizenship or immigration status.
The fourth bill would prohibit ICE from using any municipal property—such as parking lots, libraries, and recreation centers—as staging areas for immigration raids without a judicial warrant.
State and local officials have already called for the removal of ICE agents from communities across the country. Following Good’s death on January 7, a group of officials, including District Attorney Larry Krasner and Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, demanded that ICE stay out of the city. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, U.S. Senators Dave McCormick and John Fetterman, and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill have called for an investigation into both incidents and into ICE’s presence in Minneapolis.
