City of Philadelphia - File #: 130880

• File #: 130880
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 11/21/2013
• In control: Committee on Public Safety
• Title: Authorizing the Committee on Public Safety to hold public hearings to examine the working relationship between the City of Philadelphia, its agencies including the Police Department, and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and to determine the impact on Philadelphia's immigrant community and whether this information-sharing relationship should be terminated.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Kenney, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Quiñones Sánchez, Councilmember Goode, Councilmember Tasco, Councilmember Johnson, Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Oh, Councilmember O'Brien, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Greenlee

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
3/12/2014	0	Committee on Public Safety	HEARING NOTICES SENT
3/12/2014	0	Committee on Public Safety	HEARING HELD
3/12/2014	0	Committee on Public Safety	RECESSED
3/3/2014	0	Committee on Public Safety	HEARING NOTICES SENT
3/3/2014	0	Committee on Public Safety	Cancellation of Scheduled Public Hearing
11/21/2013	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced and Ordered Placed on This Week's Final Passage Calendar	Pass
11/21/2013	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED & REFERRED

Title
Authorizing the Committee on Public Safety to hold public hearings to examine the working relationship between the City of Philadelphia, its agencies including the Police Department, and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and to determine the impact on Philadelphia's immigrant community and whether this information-sharing relationship should be terminated.

Body
WHEREAS, Philadelphia is comprised of racially and ethnically diverse individuals, whose ethnicity can be traced to every corner of the globe, and whose collective cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints join to form a rich community which prides itself on welcoming persons and families of all backgrounds and nationalities; and

WHEREAS, Far too many people are lost in our broken immigration and detention system. According to Resolution 130084 passed by City Council earlier this year, over 800,000 people have been deported in just two years, which tears apart families, causing children to lose one, and sometimes both parents, and many of these children are forced into the foster care system and face possible permanent separation from their parents; and

WHEREAS, Recent federal immigration enforcement in the region through ICE's Secure Communities Program and other database sharing programs, the City of Philadelphia has participated in information-sharing with ICE and has also participated in ICE detainer requests; and

WHEREAS, Participation of City employees in these voluntary programs discourages immigrant residents from reporting crimes and suspicious activity and cooperating with criminal investigations which threatens the health, safety and welfare of the entire Philadelphia community; and

WHEREAS, Despite troubling inconsistencies in ICE policies, it is clear that ICE detainers are discretionary requests, and state and local law enforcement agencies are not required to comply with ICE detainers under federal law; and

WHEREAS, Several large US cities have ...