Montgomery County officials have prohibited employees from providing information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unless they are legally required to do so, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported today.
The new policy, approved Wednesday during a Board of Commissioners meeting in Norristown, asks county workers to “withhold data like immigration status and country of origin unless directed to do so by their superiors,” The Inquirer wrote. The policy also says that it complies with all federal and state laws and that “county employees should not interfere or attempt to instruct federal agents who are conducting enforcement operations”, according to the story.
“County employees are not deputized federal immigration agents” and “it is not the responsibility of the county or its employees to enforce federal immigration law,” the policy says.
Last week, Montgomery County jail officials shifted their previous policy of automatically holding those wanted by ICE for an additional four hours after they posted bail. Officials will now hold people for up to 24 hours, but only if they receive a judicial warrant.
According to The Inquirer’s coverage from today, a judicial warrant or judicial subpoena is now required before information—including an individual’s name, work or home address, immigration status, country of origin, program participation or appointment schedules—is given to ICE agents.
Commissioner Thomas DiBello said he first saw a draft of the policy Tuesday night and noted that “there’s a few changes I need to look into.”
For more on Montgomery County’s immigration policies, you can visit the Immigrant Resource Center.