Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker needs to do more to enforce ‘ICE Out’ legislation, activists say

A dozen representatives from more than 60 organizations called on Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration to implement and enforce “ICE Out” legislation passed by City Council in April.

The group delivered a letter by hand to David Torres, director of administration for the city’s Law Department, and requested a meeting with the Parker administration by July 31. The document also outlined actions the city government can take to implement the six of seven bills restricting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities that went into effect on July 7.

What advocates are demanding

The letter requests:

• Clear signage in city spaces communicating where ICE access is restricted and how city employees should respond to requests for access to nonpublic areas by federal immigration enforcement agents
• Training for city employees regarding protocols established in the laws, including identifying the difference between public and nonpublic areas of workplaces, teaching them the difference between a judicial and administrative warrant, and showing them how to adhere to the prohibition against asking or sharing information about residents’ immigration status
• Establishing a complaint process for reporting violations of the law and outlining disciplinary process
• A public implementation plan

The legislation is “one of the strongest bills across the country,” but the Parker administration hasn’t moved ahead with implementation, said Erika Guadalupe Núñez, executive director of Juntos.

“At the same time, we’re continuing to see ICE arrests at a record-breaking rate,” she said. “We’re seeing people getting killed by ICE, and the continued arrests outside the Philadelphia courthouse. And so the idea that these aren’t urgent or critical to immigrant communities is just falsely wrong, and I think by not implementing something that should have been passed a month ago, she’s giving a clear signal as to what her priorities are.”

Many Philadelphians, including immigrant residents, don’t know the bills are in effect, said Vivian Chang, executive director at Asian Americans United.

“Overall, these bills are supposed to protect us in our data, in our physical spaces, in discrimination protections, but none of that’s happening,” she said. “So what the city needs to do is training, informing the public, clear timelines, reporting on what’s happened so far, so that we can all be better protected.”

The Parker administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Parker signed all but one of the bills into law on May 7.

Councilmember Rue Landau, who cosponsored the legislation alongside Councilmember Kendra Brooks, said in a statement to WHYY News that City Council collaborated with advocates “but these next steps fall to the Administration.”

“We need to have a clear process of next steps for implementation,” she said. “That means staff trainings, clear signage on city property, ways to report violations, and someone empowered to address concerns and make improvements. Every day that we wait for answers, is another day that puts our immigrant communities at risk.”

Brooks said in a statement to WHYY News that the organizations “are right to demand updates and meetings from the Parker Administration and Solicitor’s Office on the ICE Out package.”

“I share their concerns and have also not received updates on this. On July 7th, the package became Philadelphia law. Philadelphians deserve to know the law is being upheld,” she said. “Organizations that protect immigrants deserve to be part of the implementation process and for the City to take into account their lived experiences. The meetings being demanded should happen.”

A federal judge in July ruled that a bill restricting ICE and other law enforcement agents from wearing masks can’t go into effect, pending the outcome of a lawsuit by the Trump administration.

Chang said that Philadelphia is already “under attack” by immigration enforcement officials.

“Even though Mayor Parker has said her strategy is to keep undercover so that Philly’s not a target, we are still a target,” Chang said. “We still see dozens of people impacted every week. … If that is the strategy, it’s not working.”

Many people are being detained by ICE when they go for routine check-ins at the ICE office, Chang said.

“They are following what they’re required to do, they know if they don’t show up, ICE will come find them at their house,” she said.

In June, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit alleging that ICE is “unlawfully” re-detaining people at routine check-ins in a reversal of longstanding policy.