Uniontown council says it won’t partner with ICE
Community voices opposition to proposal
After meeting opposition from the public and council members, Uniontown City Council removed a resolution from the agenda for Wednesday night’s meeting that would have allowed city police to partner with ICE on immigration enforcement.
The memorandum of understanding for a 287(g) task force model had been listed on the published agenda, but failed to get a motion or second at Wednesday’s executive meeting where it would have been formally added, Mayor Bill Gerke said.
“In my opinion, it’s a done matter,” Gerke said, when asked if the issue would be brought up again, drawing applause from the crowd at Wednesday’s meeting.
Had it been approved, Uniontown officers would have worked under task forces or other units designated by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. In that role, they would be able to interrogate any person they know or suspect to be living in or entering the U.S. illegally about whether they have the legal right to be in the country, and process those arrested for state or federal offenses for immigration violations, among other actions.
Area residents who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting said they were relieved council did not approve the agreement.
Kathy Sedlock, who owns property on East Fayette Street, was troubled by many of the powers it would grant to police, such as the interrogations and the ability to arrest without warrant.
“That’s all based on someone’s personal opinion,” she said. “There’s no law enforcement there.”
Debbie Miller of Uniontown said the agreement never should have been considered, calling it “the beginning of fascism.”
Leroy Renninger of Chalk Hill, who does business in Uniontown, worried about liabilities for the city, and asked what problem the city was solving. He pointed to a suit in which Allentown, Pa., had to pay damages to a New Jersey resident who was wrongfully held on an immigration detainer for several days.
“Does ICE want us to do their dirty work?” he said. “Are they going to stand behind us? Because they didn’t for Allentown.”
Before showing up at Wednesday’s meeting, members of the public had also placed calls and sent e-mails to the mayor’s office, primarily against the measure.
Councilwoman Angela Brown thanked people for speaking up.
“When an item goes on this sheet, there’s some type of confidence at City Hall that something’s going to get passed,” she said. “You applied pressure, and this is the only reason why this came off the table tonight.”
After the meeting, Gerke said ICE had brought the item to the city, and it had been placed on the agenda for discussion.
“There wasn’t any interest in anyone to look at it any further … it just didn’t seem like something that we wanted,” he said.
Councilman John Schoener said he had been concerned about potential civil rights and liability issues. He also worried about costs for the city, which would also have to pay any overtime from the officers’ work with ICE.
And he agreed with a resident that given the public’s concern about law enforcement and ICE, the agreement could erode public trust.
“I do want to thank everybody who came out, and this is how community comes together,” he said at Wednesday’s meeting. “This is how things get done. We have to work together as a community to keep our neighbors safe. I cannot be party to an agreement that introduces fear and uncertainty into our community.”