Overview
- Fifteen of 17 City Council members have cosponsored the seven-bill package, giving supporters enough votes to pass the measures and override a mayoral veto.
- The legislation would codify sanctuary protections, bar ICE operations on city property, prohibit masks and unmarked vehicles, restrict city data-sharing, and outlaw employment discrimination based on immigration status.
- The bills were formally introduced and sent to committee for hearings where administration officials will testify, after which Mayor Cherelle L. Parker can sign, veto, or allow them to become law without her signature.
- Councilmember Mike Driscoll raised concerns about whether certain restrictions on federal agents would withstand court challenges, as District Attorney Larry Krasner joined prosecutors pledging to charge federal officers who violate state laws.
- State Democrats are advancing roughly two dozen ICE-related proposals, including routing civil-rights complaints to the Human Relations Commission and urging the federal delegation to withhold DHS/ICE funding, as data show Pennsylvania ICE arrests rose 3.5 times to more than 4,800 with nearly 40% involving people without criminal histories.