Philadelphia City Council wants to limit federal agents with new ‘ICE OUT’ legislation

The Philadelphia City Council wants to limit how city agencies interact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through recently introduced “ICE OUT” legislation.

On January 27, council members Kendra Brooks and Rue Landau met introduced the The “ICE OUT” legislative package, a series of seven bills backed by more than 40 local organizations, would limit how federal immigration agents operate in Philadelphia, CBS News reports. The bills include measures to ban ICE and other agents from concealing their identities with face masks or using unmarked vehicles, among other things.

“It is our responsibility as local elected officials to make sure we protect our people here in Philadelphia, so that is the goal of this legislation,” Brooks said.

The proposed legislation would ban city agencies from cooperating with ICE, collecting immigration status information or sharing data with the federal agency — a move Council leaders are making. describe as a targeted effort to regulate ICE operations in the city. Mayor Cherelle Parker has said she looks forward to reviewing the bills.

“We are aware of the potential challenges we face, and we understand the public’s fear of the unknown as it relates to federal policies related to immigration,” Parker said. said inside a statement shared on Instagram.

Council members say the legislation will strengthen Philadelphia’s existing Welcoming City policy. While similar proposals have been introduced in other cities, Brooks and Landau call this the most comprehensive set of ICE-related legislation in the country.

“Philly has to take care of Philly, and that’s what we’re doing now,” said a speaker at the council meeting.

“There should not be a single cent of taxpayer dollars in Philadelphia and not a single second of workers in Philadelphia having to work with an agency that criticizes the entire Constitution,” said Jasmine Rivera, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition.

The bills, developed with input from immigration and community groups, come as city leaders respond to widely reported ICE-related violence, including multiple deaths linked to federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota that have sparked protests nationwide, and recent concerns over the death of a man while in ICE custody in Philadelphia.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has criticized Philadelphia’s legislation, warning it could make the city less safe.

“If politicians prohibit local law enforcement agencies from working with us, we must have a more visible presence so that we can find and arrest the criminals released from prisons and reintegrated into communities,” the statement said in part.

The legislation comes as federal officials signal a shift in enforcement strategy, with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan saying ICE will emphasize targeted operations targeting criminals and possibly reduce patrols on wide streets in places like Minnesota. However, city leaders argue that the proposed laws would still conflict with that approach because they would prohibit city employees from allowing ICE access to city-owned spaces without a court order.

“While we don’t want ICE in Philadelphia, if they want to be here, they have to rise to the level of the basic safety practices we’ve already created in Philadelphia,” Landau said.

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