The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania recently won a request to have its lawsuit against Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran’s ICE 287(g) partnership moved back to state court.
On June 28, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Juan R. Sanchez ruled the case should be removed back to the state, where it is now in Common Pleas Court of Bucks County.
Harran lost his argument that the case should be held in federal court. He did not respond to requests for comment.
“The federal court includes an order for the sheriff to pay the fees for the time we had to spend following the request to move to federal court,” said Stephen Loney, senior supervising attorney at ACLU of Pennsylvania.
Loney said while Harran can appeal the decision, of more immediate concern to him is a decision regarding the injunction request made to stop Harran from putting deputies through ICE 287(g) training and certification until the lawsuit plays out.
“If this case is going to drag out in any form we need a pause on the agreement if officers would go out and detain people it wouldn’t happen until the courts can decide,” Loney explained.
The injunction motion is a request to stop the sheriff from implementing the agreement while the ACLU PA’s claims are being litigated. The permanent request is to cancel the agreement forever, he said.
In June, the ACLU PA filed the lawsuit in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. It 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 lawsuit was filed on behalf of Make The Road Pennsylvania, NAACP Bucks County, the BuxMont Unitarian Universalists and an impacted Bucks County resident.
It argues Harran illegally entered into ICE 287(g) task force model agreement without the consent and approval of Bucks County Commissioners.
On May 21, Bucks County Commissioners voted 2-1 to set the record straight that they were the sole legal governing body able to enter into contracts with other entities, including the federal government. Republican Gene DiGirolamo was the lone no vote.
Loney said Harran and his counsel, which includes Wally Zimolong and America First Legal, has been “tight-lipped” about whether any Bucks County Sheriff’s deputies were currently being trained by ICE.
“They are not saying what is happening, has it begun, what’s involved and if it has been completed,” Loney said.
Along with moving Harran’s case back to the state, Sanchez also denied as “moot” the Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Association and two other plaintiffs, who had asked to join Harran’s case.
Denied as “moot” means the request is not relevant or applicable, Loney said.
“We’re happy from the result Judge Sanchez made about the remand. The federal court includes an order for the sheriff to pay the fees for the time we had to spend following the request to move to federal court,” he said.
