Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and a Northeast Philadelphia state lawmaker are locking horns over a State House bill that targets the city’s policy of giving sanctuary to undocumented immigrants.
House Bill 1885, authored by State Rep. Martina White of the 170th Legislative District in the Far Northeast, passed out of committee September 21.
The bill bars cities from passing legislation that limits cooperation between public officials and the federal government on immigration cases. The bill also would hold a city financially responsible for any damages, to a person or property, resulting from criminal activity by illegal immigrants.
Mr. Kenney said he had “serious concerns about (Ms. White’s) understanding of law, government and policing.”
On his first day in office, Mr. Kenney restored Philadelphia’s status as a “sanctuary city.”
In August, Ms. White condemned the policy following a request by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that the city turn over an illegal immigrant charged with raping a child in Philadelphia.
That man, Ramon Aguirre-Ochoa, 45, is charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, indecent assault on person less than 13, indecent exposure, and simple assault. He is currently being held at Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility in Northeast Philadelphia on a $500,000 bail.
“I can think of no better example of the dangerous consequences caused by Mayor Jim Kenney’s reckless sanctuary city policy, which is an open invitation to criminals who know they will be protected from deportation,” White said in a press release.
The mayor lashed out at Ms. White after her bill was reported out of committee in Harrisburg.
“In a year where we have already seen too much violence, this bill would make it even more difficult to solve and prevent crimes,” he said in a press release. “Not only would it make undocumented residents far less likely to report or to act as a witness to a crime, this bill would weaken the trust between police and the communities they serve.
“Furthermore, and perhaps most hypocritically, this legislation would hurt the very people Representative White claims to be protecting. If the city failed to comply with this incredibly dangerous law, we would lose funding for thousands of our most vulnerable children,” said the mayor.
According to Ms. White, as a prior deportee, Aguirre-Ochoa was slated to have his removal order reinstated and be removed in 2015 after local criminal charges against him in March 2014 were dismissed. At that time, Aguirre-Ochoa was released from local custody when Philadelphia authorities failed to honor an ICE detainer. He remained at large until his most recent arrest.
“Had Philadelphia turned him over to ICE in 2015, we may not be talking about this horrific event today,” said Ms. White in August.
“Sanctuary cities place themselves above the law at the expense of the innocent. This is not a partisan issue. This is a safety issue. The Obama Administration, former Gov. Rendell and former Mayor Nutter all oppose Philadelphia being a sanctuary city,” Ms. White said. “Essentially, Philadelphia allows undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds and who pose a threat to the safety of Americans, to be safe from federal expulsion. This dangerous policy must not be tolerated.”