City of Philadelphia Expected To Renew Info-Sharing Agreement With ICE
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The City of Philadelphia will most likely renew its contract with the federal Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), following a positive review of the contract, which was due today.
Despite some opposition from activists and city lawmakers who say it promotes deportation of undocumented immigrants, Everett Gillison, deputy mayor for public safety, says the city's relationship with Immigration and Customs Enforcement is expected to continue.
"We do our work in public safety. If a person has an undocumented status, we don't even ask about it," he told KYW Newsradio. "What happens is, if the person is arrested and they go to the jails, that's when the information becomes basically public and it's shared with our partners."
But Councilman James Kenney says he's concerned about folks who are arrested and whose charges are later dropped.
"I think that ICE's discretion on deporting people is too wide and it's unconstrained," Kenney says. He says the agency needs to be monitored more closely.
"Other states and other cities have opted out of this relationship (with ICE). Why this administration is determined to continue it, I don't know why. They have decided to do that, and we just have to keep an eye on it to make sure people are treated fairly."
Reported by Hadas Kuznits, KYW Newsradio 1060
