President Donald Trump signed an govt order on April 28, 2025, that calls for the U.S. legal professional basic, in coordination with the secretary of Place of origin Safety, post an inventory of towns and states that hinder the enforcement of federal immigration regulations, with the aim of defending American citizens from “criminal aliens.”
Philadelphia will most probably finally end up at the checklist.
Philadelphia is what’s referred to as a sanctuary town. Whilst the time period has no mounted definition, it in most cases refers to a town that has declared its refusal to cooperate – and even works at odds – with federal immigration enforcement.
As a regulation professor at Temple College in Philadelphia, the place I supervise scholars who constitute low-wage immigrant staff, I do know that sanctuary insurance policies can sluggish the federal immigration enforcement machine.
However the key is that federal immigration officials – in most cases U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – can nonetheless perform deportations in a sanctuary town.
Additional, there is not any query that localities akin to Philadelphia can legally make a decision to not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Towns, like states, have constitutional protections in opposition to being compelled to manage or put in force federal techniques. The Trump management can not drive any state or native reputable to lend a hand in imposing federal immigration regulation.
What continues to be observed is what, if any, motion the management will take in opposition to the ones jurisdictions that finally end up on their checklist of sanctuary towns.
Philly’s sanctuary insurance policies
My paintings has concerned researching sanctuary insurance policies in addition to how continuously ICE depends upon native regulation enforcement to lend a hand establish and switch over immigrants.
Philadelphia’s more than a few sanctuary insurance policies damage that connection and depart ICE to its personal units. Additionally they sign to immigrants that the town isn’t within the trade of federal immigration enforcement. Analysis displays this is helping immigrants really feel more secure to get entry to public advantages and products and services akin to getting care at a neighborhood well being heart or calling the police with out worry of immigration penalties.
Protestors take part in an ‘Abolish ICE’ march thru downtown Philadelphia in 2018.
Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto by means of Getty Pictures
Philadelphia’s maximum notable sanctuary coverage, an govt order signed by way of then-Mayor Jim Kenney in January 2016, is its refusal to have its jails honor ICE detainers or requests for free up dates. An ICE detainer is a voluntary request asking native officers to carry an immigrant, who’s in a different way going to be launched, for an extra 48 hours so ICE can select them up.
Failing to honor ICE detainers disrupts the deportation pipeline and makes ICE’s task tougher.
Any other key Philadelphia sanctuary coverage dates again to 2009 and was once signed by way of then-Mayor Michael Nutter. It makes transparent that town officers don’t police immigration. Now not handiest are all town staff – together with police, firefighters and behavioral well being staff – prohibited from asking about immigration standing in maximum scenarios, however police are in particular directed to not forestall, arrest or detain an individual “solely because of perceived immigration status.”
But there is not any solution to put in force those sanctuary insurance policies. Underneath those regulations, town officers who violate them don’t face penalties. Compliance depends upon a dedication from officers who imagine that following those insurance policies is the best factor to do.
Philadelphia has additionally acted in alternative ways to wreck the hyperlink between the town and immigration enforcement.
Since 2017, Philadelphia jails have had a protocol that daunts ICE from interviewing immigrants held in prison. Previous to offering ICE with get entry to to such folks, the jails will have to first ship a consent shape to an immigrant to tell them in their proper to say no an ICE interview.
In 2018, Philadelphia ended ICE’s get entry to to the town’s initial arraignment reporting machine utilized by the Philadelphia Police Division and district legal professional’s place of work. Town stated it terminated its database-sharing contract with ICE given the “unacceptable” approach the company used the machine, which “could result in immigration enforcement action against Philadelphians who haven’t been arrested, accused of, or convicted of any crime.”
Whilst those insurance policies can not offer protection to Philadelphia citizens who’ve been arrested by way of ICE, the loss of lend a hand of native officers will make it tougher for the management to ship on its promise to deport a document choice of immigrants.
ICE raided a automobile wash and arrested seven folks in Philadelphia on Jan. 28, 2025.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by means of Getty Pictures
Sanctuary campuses and church buildings
Except for the town itself, different private and non-private establishments inside Philadelphia have created sanctuary areas.
In June 2021, the College Board of Philadelphia followed a sanctuary solution as a part of an effort to create welcoming colleges for immigrant youngsters. In January 2025, the Philadelphia College District reaffirmed its dedication.
Underneath the primary Trump presidency, non secular establishments, such because the Germantown Mennonite Church in Northwest Philly and the Tabernacle United Church in West Philly, supplied sanctuary within their church buildings to immigrants who had won ultimate orders of deportation from ICE.
The College of Pennsylvania declared itself a sanctuary campus in 2016 however is lately shying clear of that label whilst college, personnel and scholars call for that the college explain its insurance policies on immigration enforcement.
Since 2011, ICE has had a “sensitive locations” memo that disfavors however does no longer fully limit immigration enforcement in puts of worship, in addition to hospitals and colleges. The Biden management reinforced the “sensitive locations” memo in 2021. Trump rescinded the memo all the way through his first month in place of work.
Activists need Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker to decide to protecting Philadelphia’s sanctuary insurance policies.
AP Picture/Matt Rourke
Retaliation in opposition to sanctuary towns
From the perspective of the Trump management, state and native officers who defy the enforcement of immigration regulation are engaged in “a lawless insurrection” that creates public protection and nationwide safety dangers.
Regardless of the management’s sturdy rhetoric concerning the “criminal alien,” 46% of folks lately held in immigration detention don’t have any legal document, in step with the Transactional Data Get right of entry to Clearinghouse at Syracuse College. Many others have minor offenses, together with visitors violations.
The manager order vows to terminate federal grants and pursue all enforcement measures to carry such jurisdictions “into compliance with the laws of the United States.”
Such terminations might not be prison.
On April 24, 2025, a federal pass judgement on enjoined language in an previous govt order directing the federal government to do so in opposition to sanctuary towns to make certain that they don’t obtain get entry to to federal finances.
Previous circumstances to drag federal investment from Philadelphia as a result of its sanctuary town standing have additionally failed. The primary Trump management was once unsuccessful at terminating a US$1 million federal grant to Philadelphia after the town sued and received in federal courtroom in 2017.
The manager order additionally makes legally questionable claims that state and native officers who apply their sanctuary insurance policies are attractive in criminality, such because the obstruction of justice, illegal harboring or actions that violate federal RICO regulation. Regardless, the management would possibly nonetheless make a selection to pursue high-profile prosecutions of state and native officers.
The government’s efforts to punish sanctuary towns will indubitably be mired in prison demanding situations around the nation. But Philadelphia officers will have to nonetheless make a decision on this second whether or not to face sturdy with the town’s present sanctuary insurance policies. Town Council member Rue Landau has been outspoken about keeping up Philadelphia’s sanctuary standing to make certain that public sources won’t ever be used to improve federal deportation efforts. However Mayor Cherelle Parker has no longer dedicated to strengthening and even making sure the town’s sanctuary protections.
In step with The Philadelphia Inquirer, the similar day Trump signed the chief order, Parker reiterated that Philadelphia nonetheless operates underneath its 2016 sanctuary coverage. Alternatively, she didn’t use the time period “sanctuary city,” the Inquirer famous, and she or he “said she would not comment in more detail until Trump makes concrete moves that affect Philadelphia.”
That is an up to date model of a tale firstly revealed on December 18, 2024.
