How will Philly’s suburban counties respond to the Trump administration’s immigration policies?

From Delco to Chesco and Montco to Bucks, what about life in Philly’s suburbs do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Since taking office Monday, President Donald Trump began fulfilling his campaign promises to enact a slew of anti-immigration policies. So far, Trump has signed executive orders and proclamations to end birthright citizenship, restart the “Remain in Mexico” policy, declare a national emergency at the southern border and suspend refugee resettlement, among other changes.

The latest moves are just one piece of the administration’s goal of deporting the approximately 11 million undocumented residents in the United States and closing off or severely limiting access to several legal immigration pathways.

Major cities that have adopted so-called “sanctuary” or “welcoming” policies, such as Chicago and Philadelphia, are expected to be prime targets of raids by Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers.

But in the past decade, newly arrived immigrants increasingly have been settling in more rural and suburban areas, according to a recent investigation of immigration court records by The Washington Post. Foreign-born residents play an important role in the communities and economies of places throughout the U.S., from small towns to burgeoning suburbs — including Philadelphia’s collar counties.

U.S. Census data shows foreign-born residents make up more than 11% of the population in both Montgomery and Delaware counties, and in the weeks leading up to Inauguration Day, local officials were taking steps to offer tangible support to immigrant residents.

Montgomery County, for example, established a position for director of immigrant affairs for the first time in its history at the first Board of Commissioners meeting of 2025. Chair of the Board of Commissioners Neil Makhija said the director will lead “a county-wide effort to review, understand, develop and support inclusive policies and programs that will strengthen our relationship with all immigrant communities, and ensure that people can interact with county government and seek resources.”

Makhija said creating the position, which he hopes to fill “as soon as possible,” was on the commissioners’ radar since assuming office in 2024, but Trump’s election in November lended added urgency.

“I think that accelerated as we saw some of the misinformation about immigrant communities come out over the last year, and all of the uncertainty around what the new administration is going to do on this subject,” he said.

Makhija said any local action on behalf of or in support of immigrant community members is limited in scope. Delaware and Montgomery counties, along with Bucks and Chester counties, are clear they are not self-declared “sanctuary” counties, and fully cooperate with ICE under state and federal law.

“When it comes to the certifications and declarations of who’s welcoming or not, I actually don’t think it’s entirely helpful,” he said. “Because when immigration is entirely within the province of the federal government, and it is, we don’t want to give people the illusion that because the county itself enacts a particular policy that they have some assurance with how immigration might be enforced within our county borders, right? We can’t give anyone that assurance.”

In the previous Trump administration, certain cities and counties passed policies to protect immigrants and limit collaboration with ICE. After Trump’s victory in November, immigrant rights organizations and activists have been rallying to strengthen and better define protections at the local level, and are urging local elected officials in Philadelphia and beyond to speak out in support of immigrant community members.

The “sanctuary” label, though, is misleading, said Cathryn Miller-Wilson, executive director of HIAS Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia-based organization that provides legal and social services to low-income and at-risk immigrants and refugees.

She uses the term “Fourth Amendment city” to signify a particular city or county will not detain someone for ICE without a warrant, a “standard legal requirement.” Local law enforcement and courts are obligated to honor warrants; they are not required to imprison anyone based on a detainer from ICE, which is not the same as a warrant.

That distinction was established by a federal judge’s 2014 ruling in Galarza v. Szalcyzk, which awarded tens of thousands of dollars to a U.S. citizen who was unlawfully detained by local law enforcement in Lehigh County Prison on behalf of ICE after the federal agency issued a detainer.

Many counties who had agreements with ICE to detain people without warrants subsequently ended those agreements after the ruling, Miller-Wilson said.

“People who were anti-immigrant use that to suggest that immigrants in all these cities across the country were being kept in sanctuary … and of course, that’s not true,” Miller-Wilson said. “State and local officials have no authority to stop ICE, and they never thought that they did. They never claimed that they did, but they certainly do have the authority to demand a warrant, and they should be, because they take an oath to uphold the Constitution, just like ICE does.”

Delaware County Council Chair: ‘We are concerned’

According to a 2018 report from The Pew Charitable Trusts, immigrants living in Philadelphia’s suburbs outnumber those living in the city approximately 2-to-1. Since the 1970s, “the immigration population has grown faster in the suburbs than in the city.”

In Delaware County, there are already rumours of raids in Upper Darby. The township has a motto: “The world in one place,” which speaks to its diverse immigrant population. County officials say they are working to support immigrant communities within the bounds of their jurisdiction.

“I come from Upper Darby, where in the high school alone, there’s 65 languages spoken, and that is what I love about the community that I live in,” said Dr. Monica Taylor, chair of Delaware County Council. “And so we are concerned, and we want to make sure that we’re here to support our immigrant community.”

Taylor said the county’s commission on immigrant affairs, established two years ago, works to build relationships with the county’s many different immigrant communities and ultimately can make recommendations to council for policies or other decisions that could improve the well-being of foreign-born residents of Delaware County.

But in terms of the extent of cooperation with ICE, Taylor said that lies with law enforcement in the county’s 42 different police departments representing 49 municipalities, and state troopers who represent around seven municipalities.

Delco’s figures are emblematic of the decentralized policing structure that exists in each of the collar counties, adding another layer of complication to understanding local immigration rules enforcement. Different boroughs and townships in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties all have some leeway to establish their own protocol for how and when they collaborate with ICE.

But Taylor said countywide measures, including welcoming resolutions and anti-discrimination or anti-hate policies, can make a difference for immigrant residents.

“I think that they can have a big impact in making sure, or at least showing our immigrant community that they’re seen and that they’re heard, and that their local elected bodies understand that they are a part of their community and making sure that they feel welcome and included,” she said.

Other counties have been less outspoken in support for immigrant communities. Bucks and Chester counties both have significant, though slightly smaller, immigrant populations compared to Montgomery and Delaware counties.

In response to requests for comment for this story, Bucks and Chester counties told WHYY News they cooperate with ICE to the extent required by law, and also abide by the 2014 Galarza v. Szalcyzk ruling.

“Chester County Prison’s policy regarding individuals who are committed on an ICE detainer only (no other pending charges or holds) conforms to the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court precedent, and more specifically the Third Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision in Galarza v. Lehigh County, et.al. (2014),” a spokesperson for Chester County wrote in an email. “The County does nothing to impede or prevent Federal law enforcement authorities from performing their job duties, and Chester County maintains a cooperative interaction with ICE officials in these matters.”

The Bucks County Department of Corrections provides ICE 24/7 access to the facility and incarcerated population, facilitates biometric information via livescan, allows ICE agents to access Bucks County criminal justice information, as permissible under CHRIA guidelines, and notifies ICE of a pending release for any prisoner ICE has requested, according to a county spokesperson. Following the Galarza ruling, the county solicitor issued a letter noting that the county “does not honor ICE detainers” and “does not accept an ICE detainer for commitment or detention.”

‘Connect the dots’

For advocates like Miller-Wilson, local elected officials have a role to play in talking about immigration and immigrant communities.

Local leaders, she said, can help “connect the dots” for why and how immigrants play a vital role in local economies. Law enforcement, government staff and others can be educated on Fourth Amendment rights.

She also said more school districts should follow the lead of Norristown Area School District in Montgomery County and pass welcoming schools policies to ensure immigrant parents feel safe and comfortable bringing their children to school, and both students and families are protected from discrimination or harassment on school grounds.

Traditionally, ICE has not conducted operations at schools, per its 2011 “Sensitive Locations” memo. A new directive from the Department of Homeland Security reverses that precedent, allowing ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents to enter schools, places of worship and health care facilities to make arrests.

“We, along with several other immigrant-serving agencies, have been trying to work with local city councils to firm up policies to make sure that kids can go to school, that people can access the courts,” Miller-Wilson said.

Those policies are limited in their power and scope, Miller-Wilson said, but they “do make a difference” by educating teachers, staff and others about their rights and the questions they can ask ICE officers if they do come to schools or courts.

“Once they have the information, they can feel more secure in saying, ‘Look, I need to see your warrant.’ You do it politely. You don’t do it with violence, but you know that they have certain rights to demand things,” she said.

Makhija echoed Miller-Wilson’s sentiment, saying it’s important that all children be able to access their constitutional right to education, and the need for immigrant residents to be comfortable reporting crimes to law enforcement, regardless of their status.

“We’re talking about services that people are already entitled to, and simply making it easier for people to access them,” he said.

Ultimately, Miller-Wilson said, local elected officials also have some power in using their words.

“The one thing that county governments can be doing, which I’m well aware of how naive this sounds in this moment, is speaking out,” she said. “The grand irony of everything that’s happening is that we actually desperately need immigrants in this moment.”

For Makhija, who said he can’t offer assurances to immigrant residents, does offer words of recognition.

“Unfortunately, there have always been moments in history where immigrant communities have been characterized as undesirable or even criminal. And that’s nothing new. This has happened to Italian American communities in the past, Irish American communities in the past, and it’s happening again at this moment,” he said. “And what I would convey to those members of immigrant communities in Montco is that you are deeply valued and essential to the fabric of our society.”