PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — City Council members introduced a package of bills on Thursday aimed at restricting how Philadelphia agencies interact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, marking what the council leaders described as a concentrated effort to control the way ICE operates in the city.
Councilmembers said the seven-bill “Ice Out” package would strengthen Philadelphia’s existing Welcoming City policies. While other cities have proposed similar measures, the legislation’s co-sponsors, Council Minority Leader Kendra Brooks and Councilmember At-Large Rue Landau, believe this is the most comprehensive set of ICE-related legislation in the country.
“Philly needs to take care of Philly, and that is what we’re doing right now,” one speaker said during the council session.
Brooks (Working Families Party) and Landau (D) worked together on the legislation.
Brooks said, “Our goal is to make sure folks feel safe in the city and combat the intimidation that we see coming from the federal government.”
Among other things, the bills would prohibit city agencies from collaborating with ICE, ban ICE agents from wearing face masks, and codify an executive order preventing local police from acting as ICE agents.
The proposals come as city leaders monitor reports of ICE-related violence in Minnesota and the death of a man who was in ICE custody in Philadelphia.
“As a city, we have to lead on this very critically important issue,” Council President Kenyatta Johnson said. He added that “overall, the majority of members of council support the legislation.”
Federal officials have recently signaled a shift in enforcement strategy.
Trump Administration Border Czar Tom Homan said ICE agents would focus on a targeted approach, potentially reducing street operations and increasing activity in prisons.
“Give us access to the illegal alien public safety threat in the safety and security of the jail,” Homan said.
Councilmembers said the new approach would still conflict with the proposed legislation, which would bar city employees from granting ICE access to city-owned spaces without a judicial warrant.
Landau said, “While we don’t want ICE in Philadelphia, if they’re going to be here, they need to rise to the level of the basic safety practices we’ve already created in Philadelphia.”
The bills were developed with input from immigration and community groups.
Jasmine Rivera, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, said, “We’ve seen thousands of our neighbors (who were) taken last year in Philadelphia alone.”
Residents also weighed in during the session.
One supporter said, “This legislation is long overdue!”
Others defended ICE, with one speaker saying, “Democrats engineered an illegal invasion of our country,” prompting boos from the audience.
Councilmembers described the introduction of the ICE Out package as the first step toward changing how ICE operates in Philadelphia. The legislation would also prohibit city agencies from collecting immigration status information or sharing it with ICE.
The bills must still be assigned to committee, and no votes have been scheduled.
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