The Facts are clear: United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) is wreaking terror at the border, outside public schools, on the streets, in our businesses, and in our neighborhoods. ICE’s actions are so inhumane and even illegal, the staff within the agency are speaking out.

It is imperative for Allegheny County to protect its residents and visitors by banning collaboration with ICE through passing ordinance 13809-26.

We have watched the shooting of two citizens in broad daylight, beared witness to ICE agents attacking families, raiding the wrong addresses, snatching up students for exercising their first amendment rights while also experiencing individuals right here in Allegheny County pretending to be ICE agents to enact violence and harm within our own communities.

Allegheny County must not collaborate with ICE.

We know that in order for Allegheny County to be a region safe for all of its residents and welcoming to all, it cannot partner with ICE. ICE has fought in a court of law to be able to racially profile individuals which puts a target on Black and Brown Residents of this county. We cannot afford to become complicit and allow ICE to terrorize our elders, residents, tourists, and students.

In Pennsylvania alone, Chaofeng Ge (32) and Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir (46) both died while incarcerated at Moshannon in 2025, and Parady La (46) died at the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center in 2026, all part of a surge in deaths in ICE custody that made 2025 ICE’s deadliest year in two decades, with six deaths already reported in January 2026.

Given this context, forcing enforcement agencies— many of whom are already stretched thin — to partner with ICE makes communities less safe, not safer. Officers untrained in federal immigration law should not be asked to enforce policies tied to violent outcomes in other states. Mandating cooperation risks bringing the same aggressive federal tactics into our neighborhoods.

A more humane immigration system is possible. Until that happens, Allegheny Local Governments officials must protect its residents by voting YES on 13809-26.

Please vote YES on ordinance 13809-26.