With increased United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in Upper Darby, township officials said they don’t participate in federal programs, and will in fact work on measures to protect residents.
With the death of township resident Parady La, who was in federal custody, events in Minnesota, reports of increased ICE sightings across the township, the agency’s activities were the center of discussion at the most recent council meeting
“Our residents have been expressing utter fear, feeling terrorized, Here in our community, with people being picked up by ICE and never being seen again,” Council President Marion Minick said.
He said residents who have been in the community for many years report being afraid to go outside, buy groceries or go to school. Parents tell their children to always carry their papers, and businesses are shutting down.
He compared it to a gang terrorizing a community but worse.
“Our own government is terrorizing our communities, and in my opinion this trauma is many times worse,” he said.
“As the president of Upper Darby Township Council I want to make it crystal clear that I and the members of council stand with our immigrant residents and all members of our magnificently diverse township community. America is after all a nation of immigrants and Upper Darby is the shining example of this fact.”
Minick said the council will work on legislation to be presented at the February meeting to help protect residents.
It is not certain what that legislation will involve, however the police superintendent made it clear the department does not participate in ICE’s 287(g) program.
The police view
“We do not enforce federal immigration,” said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt. “We have not participated and we will not participate in the 287(g) act with Immigration.”
That being made clear, Bernhardt said the department needs to maintain professional relationships with all law enforcement agencies, including federal agencies and needs to keep communications with ICE open.
“It’s for multiple reasons, I want to be able to give someone, if their loved one has been taken into custody, that we have that information,” he said. “I don’t want to lose that with these federal partners because I want to be able to give an answer to someone if they are in that situation.”
The 287(g) allows ICE officers to partner with municipal law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws. The wording at the agency website is “allows your law enforcement agency to enforce certain aspects of U.S. immigration law.”
Bernhardt also said police need to speak to federal officials for assistance if a fugitive from the township has committed serious crime. He used as an example a case of rape and sexual assault of minors.
Detectives communicated with Homeland Security because it was known the suspect was attempting to flee the country.
“That’s why we keep those professional relationships,” he said.
Bernhardt said if someone has a federal warrant that is signed by a judge, and police encounter that person, they have to take them into custody for that. He said that has happened in the past and will continue.
When they are arrested, police notify the federal authority and if that authority does not come to arrest the person, police will release them.
Bernhardt said when they get a report of ICE in town the first people he contacts is Mayor Ed Brown and Chief Administrative Officer Crandall Jones, and they have worked to build an understanding on the number of people swept up by ICE, but they do not have a specific number.
Answering a question from councilmember David Bantoe, Bernhardt said they don’t share information with ICE, however there are databases such as state records that the federal authorities do have access to but not the Upper Darby record management system.
Bernhardt said he receives a lot of reports of ICE in the community, but some of it is false. He used as an example a photo he received on Jan. 18, however there was no snow on the ground, which showed it wasn’t current. He also said artificial Intelligence is an issue.
“We know they are here,” the superintendent said but he doesn’t have a number of people taken into custody by ICE in the township.
More discussion
Brown said residents contact him directly, and when he learns of ICE sightings he lets Bernhardt know.
“We want to leave no stone unturned to keep residents safe,” he said “It is a concern we have across the board in our community.”
Answering a question from Councilmember Kyle McIntyre, Bernhardt said his department is professional and accredited. It follows written policies and procedures, but he worries that some in the community are hesitant to trust.
“Our actions speak louder than words … I’ve been police superintendent for six years and there has not been any incident that this department has been involved in that the community can say there isn’t trust there,” he said. “If someone calls 911, police will respond to help them … These officers are here to support everyone in this township, regardless of where they are from.”
“These men and women who serve the township do an unbelievable job out there,” he said. “they are put in difficult situations and they are professional all the time.”