City Council is Going After ICE. Here’s How.

Soccer has taken over Philly, and when the World Cup rolls out, the party doesn't stop because we have professional soccer right here. The Philadelphia Union returned to play to host Rivals Red Bull, New York, on July 22nd. If you've never seen a match, now's your chance with the first match on us. If you have seen a game, enter today to win VIP tickets to watch Inner Miami take on the Philadelphia Union when Lionel Messi comes to town on August 18th. Register for both at philaunion.co slash citycast. Immigrants in Philly and throughout the country are feeling traumatized by the nationwide crackdown on immigration right now. So city council acted last week on a package of bills to protect Philadelphia residents from immigration and customs enforcement agents. The bills ban agents' use of masks and unmarked vehicles restricts them from operating out of city-owned spaces and prevent Philly Police from assisting with immigration enforcement. I had a chance to speak with the bill's sponsors, council members Rue Landau and Kendra Brooks. And I wanted to learn what other ways are they trying to help? It's Wednesday, February 4th. I'm Trinaneri, and we're talking politics.

Council member Kendra Brooks and council member Rulandau, thank you both so much for joining me today. It's great to see you. Last week, people were fired up in City Hall because you both introduce a package of bills you call ICE Out. These are bills against immigration and customs enforcement agents limiting how they operate in the city. I want to break some of these key points down. One of your proposals deals with the fact that ICE agents wear these masks, they cover up their identities, and one of your bills prohibits law enforcement officers from concealing their identity. So agents would have to display badges, show their faces. So does the city have the power to force federal agents to do this? Councilmember Brooks. Yeah, so, you know, I think we already have laws on the books around. people wearing masks and being unidentified. And the other thing that you didn't mention is by using unmarked vehicles. So the city has the authority to enforce the laws that are required here in the city. And the goal is to make sure that these are the rules for our particular city. And the expectation is that ICE agents are to follow the city that they're in. And, you know, a violation of that, we've been in conversation with... the district attorney's office and the sheriff's office to make sure those things can be enforced. Councilmember Landau, did you want to jump in? Yeah, I just wanted to add that our Philadelphia Police Department does not conceal their faces. They don't shoot at moving vehicles. They don't stand in front of moving vehicles. They show their badges. They have rules of conduct that. They've upheld for years just building on police community relations. And that's the expectation and the standard. And we expect for any agents federal or otherwise that would be coming to Philadelphia. And these masks are sometimes scary to people in the community, right? Well, at this point, it's already illegal to wear masks in Philadelphia. Right. But what I'm asking is more so the emotional side. If I saw someone approaching me with a mask, they weren't identifying themselves. That's scary. There's tremendous fear happening throughout communities, throughout Philadelphia and around the country, whether it's immigrant communities or allies or everybody. You know, ICE is terrorizing communities and they're doing it intentionally and they're trying to instill fear. And what we're trying to do is take ICE out of the shadows and let them know they can't act like that in Philadelphia. So there was a case in Northeast, Philadelphia, where a man impersonated the ICE agent during the robbery or the auto shop.

kids go there? Based on the Supreme Court's recent ruling, why would anybody black around go there if they can be spotted and stopped? This is we're really just trying to protect Philadelphia's spaces, Philadelphia's residents, and to make sure that we're sending the message loud and clear that this is a city that is welcoming and safe as safe as possible for all of us to be here. Has it happened before in Philly that ICE has used one of these city properties, city locations to stage an operation? This is all preventive. We don't have any documented reports that this has happened, but we're trying to make sure that this does not happen here in the city of Philadelphia. Right now there's, we don't have any verified information about they're using city properties. There are a lot of... There's a lot of talk out there, but we don't go on talk. We only go on facts. We just wanted to double down and make sure that our spaces are, that we're not utilizing our tax dollars to assist or collaborate with this violent military organization. That also brings me to the next point. There's another bill that prevents city agencies from aiding ICE, including police helping with immigration arrest or city officials sharing information about immigrants with ICE. Isn't that already forbidden since Philly is a sanctuary city or what the mayor has framed it as a welcoming city? We have some executive orders on the books, and this just codifies those executive orders. It makes sure that we're taking those executive orders that can be passed by mayors and codify it, put it in our local law. We want it not only to maintain the executive orders that we have, but strengthen them a little and make them a little more broads, again, all in the essence of... protecting all Philadelphia. We have folks reporting of not wanting to show up to hearings, not where they're being convicted, but where they're testifying. There are so many ways that information can be shared, and we want to make sure that ICE operations doesn't inhibit the operations of our city. So it's important that the sharing of information doesn't prevent folks from showing up for court dates, showing up, for school, showing up. even for work in city places. So that's why it's so important that we make sure that we're not collaborating our information. Just wanted to add one piece to that. Yes, that we definitely don't want to collaborate with ICE. We also don't want to share our data with ICE. We have a lot of data here in Philadelphia. We collect it, whether you're using your library card or going to a health center. We want to make sure that all of that data that we have, maintains stays with. Philadelphia and that we never will share it again no indication that we're sharing it now but we want to make sure that we're codifying this and ensuring the protection for the future

Now, you've gotten support. So 15 out of the 17 members of city council support these bills. What happens next? Well, next I'm going to get a hearing and get assigned to a committee. And then after the hearing, we'll be able to make it a law. I'm really excited that this is moving forward. And hopefully we'll get a hearing within the next six or so weeks. It does then eventually get to Mayor Parker's desk, correct? That is correct. So long as it gets voted out of committee, then it gets voted on by the whole body, all of us in city council, all 17. And then so long as it passes all of that, goes over to the mayor's desk. We've got more with the council members after the break. Do you expect the mayor to support the ICE out legislation? I mean, because Mayor Parker hasn't been too vocal when it comes to ICE compared to what we see Sheriff Rochelle Ballow and District Attorney Larry Krasner have said about how they feel about ICE and the Trump administration, describing ICE as a rogue or wannabe law enforcement agency or threatening to prosecute federal officers who violate state laws? Parker has not used that same kind of language like Bilau and Krasner. What do you think of Parker's approach to ICE so far? And will she support these bills that you all have proposed? But we've been in collaboration. We've been in conversation with the administration. They're aware of the bills that are on the books. We hopefully that they'll be able to work collaboratively with us, the DA's office, and the sheriff's department. But we have, hopefully if it all passes through, we'll have a veto proof of the majority and we can continue to move forward. Not much more to add. We are in communication. I, you know, the. All of us standing together in the city and standing strong is extremely important. And we're better together. We've had the governor come out and say some really strong language as well. So we're feeling some support from the state as well as some of our state partners who have also introduced legislation. You know, we've had legislation passed in Reading and Allentown. People want ice protections right now. They want protections from this agency. You saw around the country, even this past week, people saying they don't want ice detention facilities. They want ice out of their cities. This is a growing wave. And while we've been working on this for many months, we happen to be a part of this moment in time and feel really proud and good about it. And it is... gaining tremendous support even here in Philadelphia throughout, you know, community members. We've been working with the immigrant community organizations and community members on all of this. This is their voice coming out through us. This is what they want. And, you know, we've got more people backing them up than not in Philadelphia. So I feel very good about the prospects of this.

And I've received several phone calls over the weekend from smaller jurisdictions across Pennsylvania wanting to duplicate or replicate the ICE legislation. So we're connecting some of these smaller jurisdictions with the advocates and organizers around our legislation. And we hopefully will see more of it popping out, popping up throughout the Commonwealth and around the country. Wow, that's interesting. And I know that last month you held a know your rights training that. educates people on what to do if they encounter ICE agents. Are you planning to hold any more of these training sessions in the coming weeks for community members? So we've been hosting these trainings for six months now, since the summertime, way before the legislature was introduced, and we will continue to host these. This legislation, I think we had one in Delaware County this weekend, and we have so many on the books coming forward. So if folks are interested in getting connected, feel free to reach out to my office and we can figure out how to get you connected in your organization or within your jurisdiction. You all are having these Know Your Rights trainings, but what actually is happening in the trainings? What are people learning? So there are like five main points that I want folks to walk away from these trainings with and hopefully walk away from this interview with. One, don't share information with ICE. Two, don't open your door without a judicial warrant. We didn't go in detail about that, but it's not official if it doesn't have a judicial warrant. Record all your ICE interactions and get the information for the people who are being detained. That's number four. And the last one, attend a training. please reach out to my office at Phillip PHL Council, and hopefully you'll be able to get connected to upcoming training in your area. I just wanted to jump in on that one. To be clear, after we introduced this package, we've had like 50 requests for 40 to 50 requests for these trainings, and it's growing. I got many texts and calls this weekend as well. So people really want to know their rights. know the rights of their community members and know what to do. It was clear as day watching around the country that simply filming interactions and blowing whistles can have a tremendous protection and response, right? It's so awful to think about you're actually there during a horrifying incident of ICE and community members, but you're filming it might be the difference between justice or having this go all undercover. What types of stories have people told you about maybe like if their family members or their friends have experienced ice or have they been deported? What types of stories are you hearing? Because the things that I see and here is people are scared and they are literally scared to leave their house or go to school. We just had a snowstorm and so you need groceries, you know. What have you been hearing? What types of stories have you heard from people? I mean, it's been various stories that I've heard. You know, in reality, we know that ICE is already here. And we have two people that have already died in ICE detention right here in Pennsylvania. So let that on top of, we hear of.

mass people jumping out, abducting people from the street, from the communities, and kind of disappearing people. And people are still looking for family members. We've heard that firsthand. And it's a great concern. And that's why it's so important that we move on this now. People are terrified. Even stories of young children coming home from school and their parents have been taken away. This is not how we conduct business. we should be conducting business in the United States. And we're trying to make sure that nothing like this happens here in Philadelphia. I've heard many of the same stories as well, the abductions, the tearing families apart. But the fear is really just so tremendous. The trauma that's left with the families and the fear, what are we doing to our young people? This is just crazy. The stories are so heartbreaking. People will relay them to us and just cry. I've heard this from every level, including our animal shelter, where they're seeing increase of drop off of pets because the... Family is gone and there's no one to care for them. This is everywhere. Every part of Philadelphia is starting to feel this. The small businesses feel so much pain. The families, when they can't go out to work, are feeling the pain. The kids are skipping school. We're going to feel this for a generation. We can stop it now. We can really turn the tide and make change. But, you know, we can do this. For us in Philadelphia, we're just taking care of ourselves and making sure that we're protecting ourselves. But the sooner this ends, the sooner the fear and the trauma and the family separation ends. And the most important thing for people to understand is when people are being put in these detention facilities, they're horrific conditions. And oftentimes these people are just awaiting trial. Some of these folks, I know people who are in. prisons who have hearings that they may be able to stay here in America. This is like very complicated immigration law, right? So sometimes, whether it's refugees, asylum, temporary protected status. They still need, they're waiting on their hearings for whether or not they can stay here, but they're being held in these horrifying conditions. It is not what we need to be doing in America and the trauma is going to last for a very long time. Council members Brooks and Landau, do you have any idea how many children are impacted by this or how many parents aren't going to work because of these fears? Do you have any idea of the extent of all of this? No, I don't have an exact number. Know that it's happening. We hear reports from our immigrant organizations and folks on the ground. And to Councilmember Landau's point, we're going to feel this in years to come. You know, people have gone so underground that you can't.

You can see it, walk in the area, immigrant areas of the city. The shops have fewer people in it. There are fewer people working there. But just want to add one piece to this is don't forget, people are skipping their health appointments. They're skipping their prenatal appointments. They're not calling 911 when they're being victims of domestic violence. The trickle effect of this. what we're living through right now is really painful and sends the absolute wrong message of what we want to send to Philadelphia. Philadelphia has been growing because of our immigrant communities. It's our, so many of our small businesses are immigrant run. We want to keep building up our city and our population and making sure everybody's safe. And if this continues, we'll be going in the wrong direction. Now, while a lot of attention has been on the ICE out legislation and the trainings and you all talking to other jurisdictions about the work that you've been doing, I'd like to know if there's like other issues that you're working on or what else should we be watching City Council for in the coming weeks. So we're still working on our reproductive justice task force. We're going to do some community hearing coming soon sometime in, I think, March, hopefully, and we'll have the opportunity to talk about how the Trump administration has affected reproductive justice here in Philadelphia. We're working with, once again, many of the reproductive health care organizations throughout the city. And it's a package of legislation that we're doing in a hearing. that was crafted through our Reproductive Justice Task Force that we came up with after Roe v. Wade was disbarred. So I'm really excited of those things that are also coming down the pipe from my office. And I'm still working on expanding some outdoor dining initiatives, making sure that the city departments and agencies are partners, and making sure that we are working as efficiently as possible, working on some other housing things that I have not introduced yet, and a couple of other things that I got cooking that I feel good about. But I'll be honest, the ice... This ice package has taken a lot of time and it is the most important. thing that we will be working on this term without a doubt. It is, this is life or death. And I stand with my minority leader on all of her reproductive rights work as well. We are all going to work together to make sure so many things that are these issues that affect so many people in Philadelphia are pushed forward and pushed to the finish line.

All right. Well, thank you so much for your time today. Councilmember Brooks and Landau. Thank you so much for being on CityCast, Philly. Thanks so much for having us. Thank you. That's all for us today here on CityCast, Philly. Let us know your thoughts on ICE in Philly. And also, share this episode with a friend. There's a lot of resources in here. And don't forget to rate the show. Leave us a review and hit that subscribe button. Be sure to sign up for our morning newsletter to learn more about what else Philly's talking about. And don't forget, you can support the show and get great perks by becoming a citycastfili neighbor at membership.citycast.fm. We'll be back tomorrow morning with more news from around the city. Bye.