Montgomery County prohibits ICE from using county property for civil immigration enforcement

The legislation specifies that county facilities are off-limits for federal civil immigration enforcement, “preventing an unwanted federal invasion,” said Jamila Winder.

FILE - Montgomery County Commissioner Jamila Winder addresses Democratic Party volunteers in 2024. (Carmen Russell-Sluchansky/WHYY)

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The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 on Thursday to approve a resolution restricting federal civil immigration enforcement activities on county property.

Jamila Winder, chair of the county Board of Commissioners, said the measure is “preventing an unwanted federal invasion.”

“We want to make sure that here in Montgomery County, we’re doing everything we can to make sure all of our residents can continue to access essential services and live their lives safely,” Winder, a Democrat, said.

According to Montgomery County Solicitor Benjamin Field, the resolution:

• Permanently codifies the county’s policy on interactions with federal immigration authorities, and states that the countywill not enter into a 287(g) agreement. - Makes clear the board’s position that county property and resources be used only for purposes expressly authorized by the county and not be used to assist with civil immigration enforcement.
• Authorizes the Department of Assets and Infrastructure to post signage reflecting this determination.
• Makes clear that none of its content requires violation of federal or state law.

The legislation cites construction plans for two detention centers for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at warehouses in nearby Berks and Schuylkill counties as an indication of possible “increased ICE activity” in the region.

The resolution also states that the county “opposes the use of warehouses or similar industrial facilities not intended for human occupancy as facilities to hold, jail, detain, house, or otherwise store human beings; and foresees further likelihood of quota-driven violations of constitutional rights and due process.”

Democratic Commissioner Neil Makhija said the plans for additional detention centers at warehouses in Pennsylvania could result in “a quota driven incentive to violate constitutional rights and due process.”

“We have to make sure that we will not participate in this, that we will not lend our resources towards this project,” he said. “And I’m thankful that the governor has made clear that he will use every legal tool at his disposal to stop these detention facilities from being opened across the commonwealth, and absolutely, we should do the same here in Montgomery County to ensure that none of our county properties or land are used for any such purpose.”

Commissioner Tom DiBello, the lone Republican on the board, voted against the resolution. He said he didn’t receive a copy of the resolution until later in the day Wednesday, and received two different revised versions of the legislation Thursday morning before the meeting.

“I would have liked to have been able to provide comments, because I think that there’s probably aspects of this resolution that we could put in place that I would agree with, that I think are viable … but there’s things in there that I don’t agree with and I can’t support the resolution,” he said.

DiBello said he was also opposed to a section of the resolution that states that the Department of Assets and Infrastructure, in addition to posting signs on county-owned property, can provide signs to private businesses that “delineate the non-public areas of private property on which owners may desire to restrict activities related to federal civil immigration enforcement operations,” according to the resolution’s text.

Makhija responded by saying the resolution has “nothing to do with immigration policy.”

“This is about an agency that has killed American citizens,” he said. “This is about an agency that has repeatedly, flagrantly violated the law, the Constitution and direct court orders, and this is about Montgomery County’s stand in not participating in those kinds of actions.”

An ICE raid in Lower Providence Township in February, Makhija said, was an example of how federal immigration enforcement actions are impacting families and communities, including U.S. citizens.

“This is about our own desire to ensure that we’re protecting the rights of our residents, all residents, regardless of any immigration status,” he said.

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