Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez put out a press release demanding an end to the agreement, riding a report from the American Immigration Lawyers Association, an advocacy group.
I have no faith that Quinones-Sanchez read the AILA report. I did, and spoke to one of the authors.
The very title of the report, "Immigration Enforcement Off-Target: Minor Offenses with Major Consequences," concedes there were offenses. The issue, says Alexsa Alonzo, a co-author of the report, is not that the government acted illegally, but that there's a gap between word and deed. Largely because of limited resources, ICE said, it won't target people who have not committed a second crime - the first one is being here illegally - but some non-offenders have been deported.
ICE should keep its word, but the law says anyone here illegally is subject to deportation. No "second" offense is required.
The AILA report says there were 400,000 deportations in the last year for which we have numbers. After the AILA asked its 11,000 members to report questionable (not illegal) deportations, it came up with 127 cases. That's 127 out of 400,000.
Of the 127, nine were in "Pennsylvania." How many in Philadelphia? I asked. AILA could confirm only one. So, for one possibly bad case out of 400,000, Quinones-Sanchez wants the city to stop cooperating with ICE, putting 1.5 million Philadelphians at risk.
At risk? Yes. ICE now gets access to the Preliminary Arraignment Reporting System so it can search arrest records for those with prior criminal records.
ICE should know "about illegal immigrants who commit crimes in our city," says D.A. Seth Williams. Without federal input, these ex-cons might be turned loose to rob, rape and murder Philadelphians.
