On the heels of an immigration raid in Pittsburgh this week that saw multiple workers detained, City Council on Wednesday advanced legislation to stop federal immigration officers from using some city property.
“We don’t want city property to be used for federal purposes,” Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, said.
Gross, who sponsored the measure, acknowledged the city is limited in how it can rein in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The city can’t, for example, stop ICE agents from driving down city streets or pursuing someone into a public park.
But city officials are trying to curtail ICE in ways within their control.
In a preliminary vote, council unanimously backed legislation to prohibit ICE from using city facilities, from recreation centers to the buildings that house Department of Public Works equipment. ICE agents could not use city property as staging areas or access non-public areas without a judicial warrant.
“If ICE is doing what the federal government has told them to do, we don’t actually have the authority to interfere, unfortunately,” Gross said. “But if they’re asking us to use our space, we can say no.”
ICE could still enter publicly accessible areas — open park space or city streets — and make arrests on city-owned lands.
“But they can’t commandeer our spaces that we own,” Gross said.
Council is expected to take a final vote on the measure next week.
Their preliminary approval comes a day after an immigration raid in the city’s Knoxville neighborhood.
Agents, armed and masked but without evident insignia identifying their agency, took about six workers into custody. Omar Millan, owner of roofing and construction company OK Service LLC, told TribLive three of them were released the same day.
“All of us as citizens should be paying attention to who’s being abducted where by federal troops,” Gross said, adding that she has been heartened to see so many people attending trainings to learn more about their rights if they witness such an incident. “We can all try to keep each other safe.”
Tuesday’s raid happened just outside of a school, whose teachers said they made noise to alert people of the immigration action and whisked kids into the building.
“It’s unfortunate, especially with kids across the street watching,” Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, said. “It’s upsetting not only to the immigrants, but it’s upsetting to the public.”
Coghill, who chairs council’s public safety committee, said local officials’ hands are tied when federal agents nab local residents and workers.
“This is part of our workforce,” he said of the people detained Tuesday. “It really does affect the workforce of the region.”
Council last month unanimously voted to prohibit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The measure bars city employees or contractors from asking about someone’s immigration status, bans law enforcement action based on a person’s immigration status and forbids city workers from giving federal immigration officers access to people in city custody.
It also stops the city from entering 287(g) agreements, which allow federal immigration agencies to partner with local law enforcement. Some local communities — like Springdale — have signed such agreements.
Allegheny County Council in March approved similar legislation that bars county employees from cooperating with ICE.
