A group of local activist groups announced a new coalition to demand that local law enforcement and municipal agencies stop working with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“It is the duty of our local governments to ensure our communities are safe and that our people are thriving. Allowing ICE into our neighborhoods and into our publicly owned buildings does not keep Luzerne County safe,” said Nina Ancharski, from NEPA Stands Up.
The Immigrants Rights Coalition formed out of fear for immigrant communities while the Trump administration is cracking down on immigration violations and the White House has set deportation quotas, according to CNN. Protests in support of immigrants have been held across the country in recent weeks, including in Los Angeles, where President Donald Trump deployed the Marines to quell rallies.
The new coalition is made up of Action Together NEPA, NEPA Stands Up, Integrity Political Action Committee (IPAC) and the Northeast Pennsylvania Democratic Socialists of America chapter (DSA).
"Let us be abundantly clear, ICE is not welcome here, not their so-called processing centers, not their detention centers, not their officers," Ancharski said.
The coalition announced its formation behind the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority facility in Forty Fort. They are upset that the authority is leasing a quarter of their building to the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which is the principal investigative arm of ICE.
The offices are currently housed in the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General building in Wilkes-Barre.
In a May 8 post on the borough's Facebook page, it says "there will be NO immigration enforcement operations based in or operating out of the offices in Forty Fort."
But DSA members held up a blueprint of a prisoner restraint stool that they say will be part of HSI’s renovations to the flood authority building.
Christopher Belleman, executive director of the authority, said bids have been awarded for general construction and electrical construction for the federal government's portion of the building but no work has started yet.
The board approved the lease with HSI during the Biden Administration last fall, he said.
Raids raise concerns
Members of the DSA, including Frankie Malacaria, also drew attention to recent raids by federal officers in both Exeter and Honesdale.
"These are raids on workplaces, as opposed to violent criminals, drug traffickers or human traffickers, that Department of Homeland Security is saying that they're going after with these raids," he said.
This month federal law enforcement officers arrested Miguel Bruno-Vasquez, Vicente Coyotecal Matias and Jesus Gallardo-Bautista, from Mexico; and Geoli Perez-Santana, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, who HSI alleges were illegally working in the United States. The men were arrested at their job at Wyoming Valley Pallets Inc. in Exeter.
They were transported to Pike County Jail. Malacaria said his group spoke with one of the people involved in the June 5 raid who said they went sent to Mexico City.
“The Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority's agreement with HSI, is actively facilitating stuff like this, and will actively facilitate their ramp up of illegal and unconstitutional human rights abuses in this country. We can't forget this,” said Michael Nicotera, a member of the DSA.
Luzerne County applies for ICE program
The coalition is also troubled with Luzerne County’s recent application to be part of ICE’s Law Enforcement Partnership 287g Program.
Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said their application to the program’s Task Force Model is pending.
Under the program, local law enforcement can perform specified immigration officer functions under the ICE’s direction and oversight.
"Because of the resources that are available, I think it'll be a great assistance to Luzerne County," Sanguedolce said.
Luzerne County also applied to Homeland Security's Title 19 program, which would allow the county to investigate and enforce customs laws.
Sanguedolce said if approved, his office will then have access to federal funding. He said the federal government also has stiffer penalties for violations outside of immigration enforcement.
“Homeland Security does serious drug investigations,” he said. “It will allow us to be a part of investigations into controlled substances that come not just across the border of Pennsylvania, but across the border of Mexico, which ... we had very high numbers of illegal immigration from that ... that has been largely the source of the fentanyl problem."
He said that they are finding fentanyl is every single drug they test and the deadly additive is causing overdoses in the county.
Without the designation, Sanguedolce said when local law enforcement encounters someone that is undocumented or illegal, they're not allowed to detain them.
"Because we can't enforce immigration laws. By getting this cross designation, I don't have to worry about retaliatory suits," he said.
Sanguedolce is unsure when the county will find out if it has been accepted into the program.
A region built on immigrants
Sanguedolce said he is the grandson of immigrants.
"I want their rights to be protected as well, but it's my job to protect the rights of the residents of Luzerne County," he said.
Malacaria is half Irish. He said when his family first immigrated to the U.S., they were shouted down and discriminated against.
"And after generations, we melded into the American melting pot," he said. "We're a nation of immigrants. The vast majority of us came here from another country, and for us to be daft in that outlook is absolutely horrifying to some of us."
