Upper Darby is set to consider a sweeping ordinance that would restrict if and how federal immigration agencies can operate in the township.
The ordinance, which will be introduced Wednesday with a public hearing scheduled for Sept. 16, would ban local police from assisting with federal immigration enforcement activities, prohibit immigration agents from using township property as staging areas for raids, and void agreements with neighboring municipalities that partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, among other provisions.
Kyle McIntyre, a Democratic council member spearheading the bill, said in a statement he hopes the ordinance will become a “legally workable municipal framework” that other communities can adopt.
President Donald Trump’s second administration has brought a surge of ICE arrests to the Philadelphia region, stoking anxiety in Upper Darby, a diverse township whose slogan is “the world in one place” and where nearly a quarter of the population is foreign-born, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. In January, Parady La, 46-year-old Cambodian immigrant and Upper Darby resident, died in ICE custody while receiving treatment for severe drug withdrawal.
In February, Upper Darby High School students walked out in protest of ICE, and Upper Darby passed a resolution affirming that the township would not enter into an agreement with the agency through the 287(g) program, which deputizes local police officers to carry out immigration enforcement.
ICE told Upper Darby in February it would no longer communicate with township police when carrying out immigration enforcement, an edict the agency eventually reversed the following month.
Under the proposed ordinance, no township resources, including funding, facilities, or databases, could be used to assist with federal immigration enforcement actions. Township officials could not provide information to federal agencies for the purpose of immigration enforcement, including housing records, employment details, or custody statuses. Township personnel could not assist with immigration enforcement operations, and Upper Darby could not record or maintain data about residents’ immigration status unless required to by state or federal law. Immigration enforcement agencies would also be barred from using township property as staging locations for immigration raids.
The ordinance carves out exceptions, including cases when federal agents possess a judicial warrant or when there is a legitimate criminal law enforcement matter that requires cooperation.
A judicial warrant is a warrant signed by a judge that allows law enforcement officers to make an arrest, search, or seizure. An administrative warrant signed by an ICE agent can only be executed in a public place and does not authorize officials to enter private property to make arrests.
Upper Darby’s proposal would also ban township police officers from wearing masks and would require that they clearly identify themselves with nameplates and badges. Township police would be exempt from the mask and identification rules in specific cases, including operations where there would be risk of chemical agents or hazardous environmental conditions.
Township police would be barred from stopping, questioning, detaining, or transferring individuals solely based on immigration status, civil detainers, or administrative warrants.
The ordinance also formalizes the February resolution barring Upper Darby from entering into a partnership with ICE through the 287(g) program, and declares that any municipality who cooperates with ICE through 287(g) will be considered “incompatible” with Upper Darby, and any agreements with those municipalities will be void.
In the Philadelphia suburbs, only the Lansdowne Borough Constable’s Office in Delaware County and the Pennsylvania State Constable Office Honey Brook Precinct 1 in Chester County participate in 287(g) agreements with ICE.
Upper Darby’s ordinance also “formally requests” that federal agents clearly identify themselves by name, badge number, and agency, and refrain from using masks while carrying out law enforcement operations.
The Upper Darby ordinance has many parallels to an aggressive seven-bill package passed by Philadelphia’s city council in April, which prohibits federal immigration agents from using city property as staging or processing areas, bans data sharing between the city and ICE, and bars Philadelphia police from concealing their identities.
A Philadelphia bill that banned law enforcement agents from obscuring their identities with masks, also passed in April, was struck down by a federal judge in July. The order from U.S. District Judge Chad F. Kenney argued that the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause prevents municipal governments like Philadelphia from dictating requirements for federal agencies.
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