Several dozen supporters braved the bitter cold on Tuesday to be at the launch outside Philadelphia City Hall.
By Nigel Thompson. January 27, 2026. Edited by Ericka Conant.
District Attorney Larry Krasner and elected officials announced a new package of bills meant to limit ICE’s ability to operate in Philadelphia (Photo: Nigel Thompson for Inti Media)
A number of Philadelphia City Council members are shouldering a local government pushback against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions within the city.
On Tuesday, Jan. 27, elected officials, including members of Philadelphia City Council, the Pennsylvania State Legislature, and District Attorney Larry Krasner, announced a new package of bills meant to limit ICE’s ability to operate in Philadelphia and rein in the conduct of ICE agents.
Councilmember At Large Kendra Brooks, one of the main sponsors of the bill, called the package the ICE Out legislation, which was unveiled before immigrant advocates and several dozen members of the public who attended in support.
“For me, as an elected leader, staying silent is not an option,” Brooks told the crowd gathered on the North Apron of City Hall on Tuesday morning. “My faith, my moral compass, and the Philadelphians I represent all demand that I speak out and take action.”
What’s in the package?
Several dozen supporters gathered at Philadelphia City Hall in the bitter cold to support the launch of City Council’s ICE Out Legislation on Jan. 27, 2026. (Photo: Nigel Thompson for Inti Media)
The ICE Out legislation was presented in four bills. The first would prohibit Philadelphia-based ICE agents, who often use face coverings and drive unmarked vehicles during raids, from hiding their identities. It would also require agents to display a badge when they are operating in the field.
The second piece of legislation would prohibit city law enforcement — like the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) — from collaborating with ICE. The department would not be able to sign 287(g) agreements, which allow ICE to deputize local law enforcement officers to carry out detentions. It would also solidify into law a 2016 executive order signed by then-Mayor Michael Nutter, which banned Philadelphia Police from further detaining undocumented arrestees on behalf of ICE to then turn them over for immigrant detention.
The third bill in the package will also try to cement into law a previous action taken by the city to end the sharing of information between the city and ICE. In 2018, then-Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration declined to renew a data-sharing agreement between ICE and the PPD. This agreement allowed ICE some access to a city database, which includes arrest records, court cases, and more. The third new bill would also prohibit the city from collecting any citizenship or immigration status data.
Councilmember Rue Landau is one of the two main sponsors of the ICE Out Legislation in Philadelphia City Council. (Photo: Nigel Thompson for Inti Media)
“We’re calling for an end to masked agents operating without accountability, an end to unmarked vehicles prowling our neighborhood, and we’re doubling down to codify our welcoming city executive orders to ensure Philadelphia will not collaborate with federal immigration enforcement,” said at-large Councilmember Rue Landau, the other chief sponsor of the bill package on City Council.
The final piece of the ICE Out legislation would prohibit ICE from using any city-owned property— like parking lots, libraries, and recreation centers — as staging areas for immigration raids without a judicial warrant.
Amid violence and fear
Will Philadelphia City Council pass ICE Out? Should Mayor Cherelle Parker sign it into law, the legislation would become the latest Pennsylvania municipality to pass ICE legislation in the state. (Photo: Nigel Thompson for Inti Media)
The legislation comes as protests gain traction nationwide against ICE. The epicenter Minneapolis, where two American citizens — 37-year-olds Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti — were shot and killed by ICE agents in separate events this month.
As she drove away from a confrontation with ICE agents on Jan. 7, Good was shot multiple times, including in the head, by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
Pretti was shot at least 10 times by ICE agents this past weekend. He had attempted to intervene as agents accosted a woman. Video of the incident depicts an ensuing scrum as Pretti got between them, and appears to show Pretti disarmed of his legal firearm before agents opened fire.
The Trump Administration sought to paint Good and Pretti as agitators after the shootings, but local authorities in Minnesota dispute those claims.
The rise in tensions nationwide come after more than a year of a harsh ICE crackdown on immigrant communities nationwide commanded by the administration. Philadelphia has not escaped the reality of seeing community members snatched off its streets and taken from their homes by ICE agents.
Juntos Executive Director, Erika Guadalupe Núñez, speaks to the crowd gathered at Philadelphia City Hall on Jan. 27, 2026. (Photo: Nigel Thompson for Inti Media)
Erika Guadalupe Núñez, the executive director of Juntos, said a rapid-response hotline set up by the organization last year to track ICE activity has received hundreds of calls.
“What we hear every time someone calls is fear,” she said. “From neighbors who fear for their neighbors being taken after spotting ICE in their community. From community members calling, asking if it’s safe to leave their homes, and others who are calling us to tell us that a loved one never made it home.”
Maria Serna, with Make the Road PA, said that fear has created a mental health crisis within immigrant communities like hers.
“As a mother and a member of this community, I see this pain every day in my friends and partners in this fight,” she said.
Will Parker sign it?
The ICE Out legislation will be introduced to the City Council on Thursday, Jan. 29. If passed, it will land on Mayor Cherelle Parker’s desk for a signature.
Brooks said she’s confident the package will pass.
“We still have work to do, but I don’t see it not passing,” she told Inti Media. “I think it’s common-sense legislation. It's things that we've been talking about, and with the growing momentum that we have from community members, it's important that we do something to protect our constituents.”
A signature from the mayor would be the first major action from Parker on immigration since she took office at the beginning of 2025. Her administration has remained quiet on the topic, and has avoided any open standoffs with immigration enforcement in the city. She has maintained the precedents set by Kenney and Nutter — of having little or no interaction with ICE.
A march to Fetterman’s office
After the hour-long press conference, the dozens gathered at City Hall marched east down Chestnut Street to U.S. Senator John Fetterman’s office, where they delivered a letter addressed to both Fetterman and fellow Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Dave McCormick. The letter asks them to vote against a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which is currently making its way through Congress as part of a larger government funding bill that would allocate an additional $770 million to ICE.
“Pennsylvanians are demanding that Congress stop enabling DHS’s abuses and not funnel more of our tax dollars into an agency that continues to harm our communities,” the letter reads. “Senator Fetterman and Senator McCormick use your power and don’t permit this violence and abuse of power to continue.”