Philadelphia ‘ICE Out’ legislation: Here’s what to know as City Council weighs bills

On Monday, Philadelphia City Council will hold a public hearing on a legislative package of seven bills that would restrict federal immigration enforcement activities in the city.

“When federal agents are terrorizing our communities and executing American citizens in the street, we must take action,” Councilmember and Minority Leader Kendra Brooks told a crowd in January at a rally announcing the legislation, just days after federal immigration enforcement agents had shot and killed a second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis.

“ICE is already here in Philadelphia, tearing families apart and forcing people to live in fear,” she said. “Every day we’re seeing new reports of ICE’s cruelty and violence. I refuse to wait for another person to be publicly murdered before we take action on this issue.”

Here is everything you need to know about the bills, including how you can voice your thoughts to Council at Monday’s hearing.

What does Philadelphia’s ‘ICE Out’ legislation entail?

If approved by Council and made law, the measures would:

• Prohibit ICE agents and all other law enforcement officers from wearing masks or using unmarked vehicles, and require them to display badges, with exceptions for undercover work, SWAT teams and medical purposes.
• Codify the city’s longstanding commitment to not participating in collaboration agreements with ICE under its 287(g) program.
• Prohibit city agencies, including police, from collaborating with ICE and other federal civil immigration enforcement agents absent a judicial warrant.
• Prohibit city agencies from collecting information on people’s citizenship or immigration status and sharing that information or other personal data with ICE.
• Prohibit discrimination based on citizenship or immigration status by city agencies, employers, housing providers or businesses.
• Bar ICE from conducting raids on city-owned properties.
• Ban ICE access, absent a judicial warrant, to city-owned spaces, including libraries, health centers, shelters and rec centers.

Which members of Philadelphia City Council support the bills?

At-large Councilmembers Kendra Brooks, Working Families Party, and Rue Landau, Democratic Party, introduced the legislation in January. All seven of the bills have a veto-proof majority of the 17-member Council signed on as sponsors, and every member has signed on to co-sponsor at least one of the seven bills.

Who is opposed to the legislation?

Councilmember Michael Driscoll told The Philadelphia Inquirer in January that he is concerned about legal challenges to the bills, and is open to amended versions of the legislation.

Some residents have defended ICE and the Trump administration’s federal immigration enforcement operation at Council hearings.

What is Mayor Cherelle Parker’s position on the ‘ICE Out’ legislation?

Immigrant rights groups and advocates have criticized Parker for not speaking out against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

Parker has maintained an executive order dating to 2016 that limits police cooperation with ICE, and she has suggested that her reticence on the subject is a strategy to maintain federal funding and protect against retaliation of the kind that Trump has previously threatened toward so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions that have passed legislation restricting collaboration with ICE.

In a statement in January to The Inquirer, Parker said her administration has a “comprehensive approach to public safety,” and “understand[s] the public’s fear of the unknown as it relates to federal policy associated with immigration.”

“I have a great deal of faith in our public safety leaders — our subject matter experts — who I asked to be a part of this team and we’re going to do our best to work in an intergovernmental fashion, along with City Council, to keep every Philadelphian safe,” she said.

What do immigrant rights groups and other stakeholders say about the legislation?

The legislation has been endorsed by more than 70 organizations, including:

• The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania
• New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia
• Make the Road Pennsylvania
• Woori Center
• Asian Americans United
• Council on American-Islamic Relations-Philadelphia
• Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia
• National Domestic Workers Alliance
• OnePA
• Philly UNITE HERE
• Pennsylvania Working Families Party
• Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Pennsylvania
• VietLead
• Philly Democratic Socialists of America
• Abolitionist Law Center
• Service Employees International Union 32BJ
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 47
• The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers
• The Defender Association of Philadelphia
• UNITE HERE Local 274

On Saturday, Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition and other advocates held a pep rally at LOVE Park in support of the “ICE Out” package.

More than 1,000 Philadelphians have signed a petition in support of the legislation.

How does Philly’s ‘ICE Out’ package compare to other ICE-related laws in the region?

Other counties and municipalities throughout Pennsylvania, including Allentown, Reading and neighboring Montgomery County, have passed similar legislation restricting cooperation with ICE, except in cases of obligations under federal law.

Most so-called “welcoming” ordinances or policies bar cooperation with ICE absent a judicial warrant, and prohibit law enforcement agencies from honoring ICE administrative detainers, which are not signed by a judge. Many such policies also restrict local government agencies and law enforcement from collecting information regarding a person’s immigration status unless required by law, and prohibit leasing municipal property to ICE.

Delaware and New Jersey have passed legislation at the state level limiting or restricting local law enforcement collaboration with ICE.

How can Philadelphians weigh in on Council’s ‘ICE Out’ legislation?

The hearing will be held Monday beginning at 10 a.m. in Room 400, on the fourth floor at City Hall. Community members can attend in person or watch online.

Anyone interested in providing public comment at Monday’s meeting can call 215-686-3406 or email chiefclerk@phila.gov by 3 p.m. on April 10, 2026, and submit their full name, a callback telephone number, a street address, the bill or resolution number that will be addressed, and whether they support or oppose the legislation. Residents can also email testimony to chiefclerk@phila.gov, preferably in PDF format.