Politics permeates fight against ICE agreement
There’s a familiar axiom that all politics is local. And if you follow The Independence, you recently read an in-depth report on the national debate over the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s round-ups of illegal alien criminals, the political backlash, and those issues’ connection to Bucks County.
Independence senior editor Brad Vasoli covered all the details involving ICE, Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran, the county commissioners, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against Harran; the leftist group represents four plaintiffs objecting to his department’s partnership with ICE.
About three months ago, the sheriff appeared at a county commissioners meeting, announcing his plan to enter into a cooperative agreement with the federal agency. Democratic majority Commissioners Bob Harvie and Diane Ellis-Marseglia did not react well.
They told Harran, a Republican up for reelection in November, that only the commissioners — not row officers — have that kind of “contractual authority” to affirm a federal-local interagency partnership. The sheriff could not enter into any such agreement on his own, they said.
Nevertheless, Harran went ahead with the agreement and his deputies have since assisted ICE on at least one case involving the arrest of a criminal alien wanted in Bucks County.
Although the commissioners maintain their prerogative was violated, they took no action against Harran. But three nonprofits and a Bucks County resident, all left-leaning advocates for immigrant rights and “social justice,” did. The plaintiffs are Make the Road States, Inc.; NAACP Bucks County Branch; Bux-Mont Unitarian Universalist Fellowship; and Juan Navia.
Notably, the White House does not consider Bucks sanctuary county, nor does the jurisdiction presently have a major problem with criminal illegals or criminal alien gangs, according to Bucks District Attorney Jen Schorn. Yet, we are not unaffected by this national issue.
Throughout the nation, in sanctuary cities, when ICE moves in on illegal criminal aliens, the agency is likely to face organized opposition and physical interference from local protesters. ICE’s mission is an issue opposed by left-leaning groups from the Democratic National Committee on down, especially in “blue” states and cities where protests are organized and loud. Bucks County itself has seen its share of public opposition to ICE, recently.
More than a few Democratic elected officials have sided with targeted criminal aliens and against ICE agents. It will likely be a prime issue leading up to next year’s midterm election, as well. We are thus reminded: “All politics is local.”
For now, all eyes are on the incumbent sheriff and the man nominated to oppose him in November, Democrat Danny Ceisler, who is hoping the ICE issue has a negative effect on Harran’s campaign.
Harran’s lawyer is quoted in Vasoli’s Independence story, arguing that if anyone sued Harran, it should have been the county commissioners, who have “standing,” rather than the nonprofit and resident plaintiffs.
In the simplest terms, this dispute is a political one. Donald Trump has made opposition to open borders and illegal immigration a top agenda item since returning to the White House in January. When the county sheriff indicated he was willing to work with ICE, an offer that is open to all law enforcement agencies nationwide, it localized this national issue.
In Bucks, the legal wrangling could not have been handled any other way with the current political climate, the upcoming elections, and two diehard Democrats leading county government.
This fight between Harran and the ACLU will have a political impact one way or the other. However, Harran’s attorney is confident his client will prevail. A tentative hearing date in Bucks County Court of Common Pleas is scheduled for September 15.
Pat Wandling hosts Speak Your Piece weekdays at noon on WBCB 1490.
