Protesters Demand Gov. Shapiro Cut Pennsylvania Ties to ICE Amid Ongoing Abuses

On May 1, sixty protesters rallied on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol demanding Governor Josh Shapiro end all state cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The protest, led by Jasmine Rivera of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, called out the ongoing collaboration between state agencies and ICE as enabling the Trump administration’s unconstitutional immigration crackdown.

Rivera acknowledged that Shapiro has taken some initial steps to protect immigrant rights, such as blocking ICE’s use of certain warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill counties and refusing to share voter and food benefit data with federal authorities. “For those initial steps, we give him kudos,” Rivera said. “But the work is far from over for what our governor can do.”

Despite these measures, ICE still retains access to some Pennsylvania databases, and state law enforcement continues limited communication with the agency. The Shapiro administration claims that state data shared with ICE is minimal and only used in cases involving convicted criminals sentenced by state courts. However, activists argue that any collaboration with ICE feeds a “cycle of fear, exploitation, and cruelty.”

Alex Domingos of the ACLU of Pennsylvania emphasized the human cost of this cooperation. “Every unlawful detention or deportation, every act of cruelty in detention centers, every violent raid and arrest: it’s a profound harm enacted on all of us,” Domingos said. “Every act of voluntary collaboration by state or local officials feeds a cycle of fear, exploitation, and cruelty. It is important that every elected official hears us when we say, ‘Not in our name, not with our resources, and not in this Commonwealth.’”

Governor Shapiro’s office maintains that he is protecting Pennsylvanians from President Trump’s “unconstitutional abuses of power” and insists that Pennsylvania is a welcoming state where no one is discriminated against based on identity or beliefs. Yet, the protesters’ demands highlight a persistent gap between rhetoric and reality when it comes to dismantling state support for ICE’s harsh immigration enforcement.

This protest is part of a broader movement pushing back against the expansion of for-profit immigration detention centers, family separations, and the lack of accountability for abuses within ICE facilities. As the debate continues, the question remains whether Pennsylvania’s leadership will move beyond symbolic gestures to fully end state entanglement with ICE’s oppressive system.