Two months after he proposed rules to manage Lackawanna County employee interactions with immigration agents, Commissioner Bill Gaughan wasn’t happy with the final version.
Gaughan voted for it anyway Wednesday. So did fellow Democratic Commissioner Thom Welby.
Over Republican Commissioner Chris Chermak’s dissent and objections from audience members in favor and opposed, Welby and Gaughan approved a policy regulating the way employees deal with immigration agents or any federal, state or local law enforcement inquiries.
“It does not go as far as I believe it should,” Gaughan said. “It does not create the bright line rules that I think many in the public were asking for. But it is also true that this policy is not nothing.”
The policy requires employees to:
- Ask for an enforcement officer’s name, agency, official credentials and badge numbers.
- Ask why the officer is at a county facility.
- Request for a warrant, court order or other legal document the officer presents.
- Contact a direct supervisor, department director and the county chief of staff.
- Contact the county solicitor when agents present a judicial warrant, subpoena or court order; ask for access to confidential records; request detention of a county prison inmate; request records by phone, email or other informal means; and if there’s “any uncertainty about the legal validity or scope of a request.”
“Front-line employees should not independently make determinations about the legal validity or scope of any presented document,” the policy says.
The policy also says the county will not sign a 287 (g) agreement with the federal government. Named for a section of federal immigration law, 287 (g) agreements allow local law enforcement to help ICE agents enforce federal immigration law.
The policy does not cover the county sheriff or district attorney's offices, but Sheriff Mark McAndrew and District Attorney Brian Gallagher said they won't sign 287 (g) agreements.
"That's their job, not ours," McAndrew said, referring to ICE.
In a statement, Gallagher said his detectives need to remain focused on investigating local crimes. But he said he would oppose limits on detectives "collaborating with local, state or federal law enforcement partners."
Gaughan's reasoning
Gaughan unveiled his Protect Our Neighbors ordinance in early February after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent contacted an emergency management official asking for help on a case.
Gaughan said he preferred his ordinance because it clearly forbid cooperation with immigration agents without a court order or warrant issued by a judge.
“Clear lines, clear rules, clear protection,” he said. “Commissioner Welby put forward a policy … It provides guidance, it creates a process. It ensures employees do not act on their own without legal oversight, and in a situation where we previously had no framework at all. I think that that matters. So I will be supporting this policy, not because it's perfect — because I don't think it is — but because it is a step forward in the right direction, and I believe that we can continue to improve it.”
Welby's reasoning
Welby, whose sister was a Scranton police officer, said he’s “torn” by the policy. A relative feels strongly about the need for tough immigration enforcement, he said.
“I feel very strongly about a lot of the issues, but also very concerned about a lot of the issues, very concerned about how this can impact our county, with something that we don't foresee. I mean, this is the hometown of Joe Biden, and I believe that we have people in Washington right now that would be eager to make an example of something in President Biden's hometown, and do things that certainly aren't welcome here.”
Welby said he fears Washington, D.C., officials will perceive Lackawanna “as becoming a sanctuary community” for illegal immigration.
“Which we are not and will not be, at least the county, from its perspective, will not be,” he said.
Chermak's reasoning
Chermak cited his past concern about illegal immigrants who killed American citizens and said he fears the county may be seen as a sanctuary for illegal immigration.
“I've stated on the record that I'm not going to vote to limit federal law enforcement or any law enforcement,” Chermak said.
“And it's very simple … How we operate here is, if there's a question, you call our solicitor and we call the chief of staff, that's what the employees will do," he added. "But I cannot vote to start a sanctuary issue. I'm not going to vote to impede law enforcement. And that's where I stand.”
Opponents have a say
Frank Scavo, an Old Forge resident pardoned by President Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 rioting, said immigration enforcement should be left to ICE and the county shouldn’t involve itself.
“The root cause was open borders. People flooding in, unvetted. Well, that's fixed by President Trump. Now comes our turn to do our part in protecting the citizens of Lackawanna County,” he said. “We don't know if they're (ICE agents are) right, wrong or different, but that is an arm of the United States government that's here to protect ... the guys and girls and families in Lackawanna County. I don't know why anyone would want to work against that ... It's just crazy.”
Attorney Mike Giannetta, a Scott Township supervisor, called the policy “a sad day” for the county because it turns the county into a sanctuary for illegal immigration.
“We should be cooperating with federal law enforcement to keep everybody safe,” Giannetta said. “We don't want them out roaming the street, picking people up randomly. But if, local law enforcement and local county officials can cooperate with federal officials and have a more targeted enforcement of individuals that are a danger to our community, I would rather see that than no cooperation at all.”
Others want no cooperation
Others agreed with Gaughan that the policy isn’t strong enough.
Attorney Tim Kelly said the policy doesn’t define lawful enforcement and isn’t realistic.
“More than likely, ICE is going to break the door down, demand the records, wave a piece of paper in front of your staffer and say, 'If you don't give me the records right now, we're going to arrest you and haul you off,'” Kelly said. “I like the steps in your procedure to vet whether these actions are lawful or not, but I don't think practically it works.”
Will Cohen, a University of Scranton theology professor, handed the commissioners 16 letters signed by students supporting protections for “our immigrant and refugee neighbors.”
“There is no legal obligation to cooperate or collaborate with federal immigration enforcement short of being presented with a judicial warrant,” Cohen said. “But there is a moral obligation to be, a moral obligation to be as little a part of federal immigration enforcement as legally possible … And I don't believe that the plan, as currently configured, does enough to protect the people that the Protect Our Neighbors Act was aimed at.”
Michael Nicotera, a University of Scranton student, called the policy “a step in the right direction, but called for tabling it again.
The commissioners did that at their last meeting.
“And I think waiting two more weeks to get this right and attempting to move closer to what Commissioner Gaughan had originally proposed would absolutely have a much better effect on on the community and protect people who need it the most,” Nicotera said.
Jenny Gonzalez, a Scranton resident who works for an immigrant advocacy organization, said statistics show fewer than 7% of “ICE detainees have violent criminal records.” She referred to Chermak’s listing of victims of illegal immigrants during a meeting two weeks ago.
“While the crimes you mentioned two weeks ago are tragic and must be punished, using them to characterize an entire population is a harmful generalization,” Gonzalez said. “To those that argue that law and order must come at the expense of a family seeking safety or opportunity, you have clearly never sat down to hear immigrants and refugee stories.
Gonzalez said current immigrant stories “mirror those of your own European ancestors who came here with the same hopes and dreams."
“You may be tired of hearing us urge and implore that you stand on the right side of history, but for many of our neighbors, it is already too late,” she said.
