The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Community Justice Project filed a lawsuit Friday against Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran over an ‘illegal’ 287(g) ICE partnership, along with naming Bucks County as a defendant in the suit. The lawsuit requests the court to issue an injunction.
“You don’t have to go back very far into recent history to see how futile and fruitless these types of agreements have been in other Pennsylvania counties,” said Stephen Loney, senior supervising attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “Local law enforcement is not equipped to operate as immigration agents and often make serious mistakes that can put the lives and livelihoods of those they target in serious jeopardy and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. Bucks County deserves better.”
The lawsuit, filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County, argues Harran entered into a “unilateral and illegal” 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to allow county deputies to become certified and act as “de facto” ICE agents, the ACLU PA stated in a press release.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Make The Road Pennsylvania, NAACP Bucks County, the BuxMont Unitarian Universalists, and an impacted Bucks County resident.
“Sheriff Harran has blatantly overstepped his authority by enrolling Bucks County in a 287(g) agreement, a reckless decision that weaponizes local law enforcement to carry out ICE’s harmful agenda. This policy isn’t about safety — it’s about intimidation,” said Karen Rodriguez, member of Make the Road Pennsylvania and a Bucks County resident.
According to the ACLU PA, Harran entered into the agreement, commonly called 287(g), without the authorization or consent of Bucks County Board of Commissioners, who serve as the county’s governing body. County Commissioners have since codified their opposition to the agreement in a vote formally disavowing the sheriff’s actions by a 2-1 majority at a regular business meeting May 21.
The civil complaint requests the court to issue an injunction against Harran to prevent him from implementing “an illegal agreement” with ICE “without the required authorization” of Bucks County’s governing body.
“Such [287(g)] agreements have been proven to open the door to harmful and insidious racial profiling, poor jail conditions and other civil rights violations, all of which expose the county and its taxpayers to legal liability,” the press release said.
The civil complaint provides Harran 20 days to take action and respond to the complaint to either receive the necessary approval from the County Commissioners or withdraw from the agreement.
County officials confirmed Friday that Harran has not shared any documentation about his application or the signed agreement partnership paperwork with ICE to either commissioners or to Bucks County Solicitor Amy Fitzpatrick.
Excerpts under the “Nature of the Action” from the ACLU PA complaint include:
· The ICE agreement would divert county and taxpayer funds to “perform federal immigration duties normally reserved for federal ICE agents – 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”
· Deputize local law enforcement as “de facto” ICE agents “under the ultimate supervision of the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. Agreements require local authorities to take on federal functions at the local municipality’s expense.”
· The agreements “siphon” county resources, erode “hard won trust, communication and cooperation” from local immigrant communities.
“We are aware of the letter sent to the Sheriff regarding his plan to contract with ICE. No signed agreement has been presented to the county commissioners for review and approval. The county contacted the Sheriff’s solicitor and sought information from ICE regarding the Sheriff’s authority and have not heard back. Since the County of Bucks may also be named as a party in potential litigation, we cannot comment further,” James T. O’Malley, deputy director of communications for Bucks County Commissioners previously said.
On May 12, Bucks County Beacon reported the ACLU had sent a letter to Harran demanding he withdraw the ICE 287(g) application or face legal action. Multiple efforts to reach Harran by phone and email have been unsuccessful.
READ: Central Bucks Community Grapples with the Specter of ICE Raids at Local Schools
Under the ICE application submitted by Harran, and first made public in an April exclusive report by the Bucks County Beacon, the sheriff applied to become part of an ICE 287(g) “task force model” partnership, a program described as a ‘task force multiplier’ as it trains and then deputizes local law enforcement officers to act as de facto ICE agents as they perform their day-to-day duties.
The program was suspended by the Obama administration after a 2011 Department of Justice investigation concluded that then Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio “engaged in a pattern and practice of constitutional violations” and “racial profiling” while participating in this 287(g) program. The Trump administration resurrected the program to help carry out its mass deportation program. Trump promised on the campaign trail to “launch the largest deportation program” in the history of the country. Since then ICE has come under fire for terrorizing communities and “widespread human rights violations.”
“At a time when radical and reactionary anti-immigration elected officials assume that they can act with impunity to implement a chaotic and cruel agenda targeting immigrants across the United States, it’s critical to send a message that nobody is above the law,” said Witold Walczak, legal director at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “Sheriff Harran is no exception.”
