287(g) Program Challenged and Set to End in Bucks County Pennsylvania
In October, I wrote about the 287(g) program here and discussed the ins and outs of why it’s important to know about it and why it poses such a danger to immigrant communities. That post went viral, so I’m re-upping it again. To recap: In 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act added Section 287(g) to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Act deputizes state and local law enforcement officers to enforce specific immigration laws. In short, they become agents for ICE, which is not a good thing. At all.
Today, independent journalist Arturo Dominguez published a fantastic piece that identifies 1,154 287(g) agreements with local and state agencies at Antagonist Magazine. Visit the piece to see if your state or city has signed up for the 287(g) program (most states have done so).
Interestingly, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, voters have pushed back on the program, voting out Sheriff Frederick Harran, who was a staunch supporter of it and initiated the partnership for the county.
The incumbent Harran lost to the incoming Democratic challenger, Danny Ceisler. Ceisler won by over 55% of the vote. Apparently, Bucks is an interesting bag when it comes to its voting history. For example, it went to Trump in 2024, but he won it by just 300 votes.
Ceisler ran his campaign on the issue and against the partnership, promising voters that he was going to “take politics out of the Bucks County sheriff’s office and end the agency’s partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” Once he becomes sheriff of the county, the partnership will end later this year.
Furthermore, the county has been at odds with Harran since the spring, when he signed a partnership with ICE, joining the 287(g) program. It has now become a legal fight as well.
On June 6, the ACLU, along with other organizations, filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Harran, claiming the “sheriff unilaterally and illegally entered into an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, seeking to effectively deputize local law enforcement to operate as immigration agents.” They also added, “the Sheriff entered into the agreement . . . without the authorization of Bucks County Board of Commissioners, who serve as the county’s governing body. The county commissioners have since codified their opposition to the agreement in a vote formally disavowing the sheriff’s actions.”
It makes me wonder how many other 287(g) partnerships were entered into an agreement in this way, i.e., with a MAGA-like sheriff who illegally entered into the “contract” with ICE, but without authorization of their county board of commissioners? Perhaps some readers could do some digging around and see if that’s the case in their local areas (hint, hint).
Unfortunately, last month Judge Jeffrey Trauger dismissed the case, meaning the 287(g) program will continue to spread across Pennsylvania.
However, the ACLU and the others who filed the lawsuit against Harran plan to appeal.
Naturally, Senior Supervising Attorney Stephen Loney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania expressed disappointment with the outcome.
“It’s unfortunate that the judge in this case failed to appreciate what the law clearly states; the sheriff does not have authority to sign onto a 287(g) agreement with ICE,” he said, when speaking to reporter Jacob Geanous of the Pittsburgh Gazette.
Bucks County, PA, is a horse of a different color. It's where New Hope is locatred: a sanctuary for the LBGT+ community. My friends there, Enid McDonough and Roger Green, are the informal mayors of the town. They captain drag shows and have hosted us on half a dozen occasioins over the last 11 years - a hotbed of progressive politics.