Late Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security posted a listing of about 500 local governments that it deems "sanctuary" jurisdictions. But if you click on that link now, you'll see "Page Not Found." It has gone poof! The public listing was removed sometime Sunday, but there's been no assurances from Team Trump whether the designation itself still remains. Although Homeland Sec'y Kristi Noem admitted to Fox News that there's been pushback, she nevertheless maintains that "[t]hey [i.e. sanctuary jurisdictions] are giving sanctuary to criminals." The significance of this label is that President Donald Trump has made clear in at least two executive orders that these governments will be denied federal funding.
Blogger Michael Molovinsky, whose view on this topic is much different than mine, argues that while Lehigh and NorCo should be more cooperative, even if they are not interfering with this roundup. He points out that "[t]he fly in their ointment is that the Trump administration controls the funding that bleeding hearts depend upon."
Actually, that fly is in the ointment of the citizens who live in both counties, not their elected officials. Local law enforcement depends on DOJ grants and nearly every human service, from child protective services to senior care, rely heavily on federal funding that passes through each county. A disruption of this funding threatens public safety far more than an insistence on a warrant.
While I am unable to write with certainty about Lehigh's policy, I can tell you what Executive Lamont McClure told NorCo Council several months ago. The county notifies ICE whenever it is holding an undocumented immigrant. This is above and beyond what the law requires. Most of the time, ICE has no interest. If it does, NorCo will hold a Defendant for an additional 48 hours beyond the release date if a detainer is filed. But the county insists on a warrant or court order before releasing someone to ICE. This seems pretty cooperative to me.
I'd really like to hear what both counties have done that are "deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities." Some readers have pointed to Boulder Colorado or have decried an admittedly lax policy under former President Joe Biden. But if that is a justification for designating Lehigh Valley's counties as sanctuaries for cartels and other violent immigrants, then the designation should apply to every jurisdiction in the country.
Fortunately, the Center for Immigration Studies still has a map, broken down by county and city, of the jurisdictions labeled as sanctuaries. Neither LehiCo nor NorCo honors an immigration detainer on an incarcerated defendant unless accompanied by a warrant or court order.
This is because this is what the law demands. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Pennsylvania, has ruled that immigration detainers are mere requests. It also has concluded that nothing in federal law gives ICE the authority to "command local or state officials to detain suspected aliens subject to removal."
That would violate states' rights, a clarion call of conservatives, under the Tenth Amendment. All power not expressly conferred on the federal government remains with the states. Lehigh County, which honored such a detainer in 2010 instead of insisting on a warrant, was found liable. It cost the county $95,000, and it was forced as part of a settlement to insist on a warrant or court order for future detainers.
NorCo does cooperate with ICE, despite what Rep. Ryan Mackenzie said at a recent Homeland Security hearing. Not only will it honor an ICE detainer and hold a defendant up to 48 hours after his release is scheduled, but it will notify ICE by email exactly when and where the release will take place. ICE can then obtain a warrant if it wants, or it can wait right outside the jail, on county property, to detain the defendant immediately after his release. Contrary to what Mackenzie asserted, the defendant is released on county property, and in the presence of ICE agents.
I have obtained two videos of these releases. I am posting one of them. I chose to post the entire video so I can't be accused of snipping out parts, but you will see a Defendant being detained, on county property, at the end of this video. Contrary to what Mackenzie falsely asserted, nobody "escape[s] into our local community, [where] they would be free to reign terror all across our beautiful Lehigh Valley."
Mackenzie should remember that his job is representing the entire Lehigh Valley, including seniors, children and everyday working people who benefit from grants that help our local police and human services agencies. Instead, he has chosen to play politics.
