Overview
- Baltimore City Council, which voted unanimously Monday, approved the Safe Spaces and Communities Act and Mayor Brandon Scott has signaled he will sign it.
- The law requires a judicial warrant before police assist immigration agents, blocks ICE from nonpublic areas in city buildings, bans collection or sharing of immigration-status data, and directs officers to record encounters and verify ICE credentials.
- Pittsburgh council members led by Barb Warwick introduced a bill Tuesday to bar police collaboration with immigration enforcement, require ID checks of agents, limit data sharing, and block ICE use of facilities such as police stations, rec centers, and parks.
- Pittsburgh Police Chief Jason Lando said the bureau already does not work with ICE or check immigration status, and the department is reviewing an incident at a gas station where officers did not step in as ICE tried to detain suspects.
- Similar restrictions passed recently in Baltimore and Howard counties in Maryland and Allegheny County in Pennsylvania, and supporters in Baltimore say the city rules aim to reduce fear for immigrants seeking services in public buildings.