Philadelphia, PA – On the afternoon of Thursday June 23, 2011, Philadelphia City Council passed a non-binding resolution “condemning the City of Philadelphia’s agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to allow immediate access to arrest information,” which has led to the deportation of hundreds of Philadelphia residents. With Councilman Jim Kenny and Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez taking the lead, Council urged, “the City to discontinue that agreement with ICE when it expires August 31, 2011 as well as any other involvement in the Secure Communities program or additional data-sharing agreements with ICE”. These programs make the City an active partner in non-discretionary enforcement activities of federal immigration authorities which affect families who are contributing to the well-being of the City. The resolution continues, “The practice of assisting in the deportation of immigrants hinders the City’s ability to forge relationships with immigrant communities and is counter to public safety.” And also firmly testifies that, “All residents of Philadelphia have the right to remain in their neighborhoods with their communities and their families, regardless of their economic status, their immigration status or their criminal history.”
Councilman Kenny also recognized that the City should not be complicit in the deportation of people who have come to the United States to seek refuge from “unthinkable” circumstances of violence, war and genocide, citing the experience of Cambodian-American communities and recent immigration enforcement activity in Indonesian communities. Also mentioned as an example of injustice was Zulma Villatoro, a Philadelphia County resident, who qualifies for legal permanent residency under the DREAM Act. She was facing deportation next month, until City Council urged the Department of Homeland Security to defer her removal and allow her to remain here with her 4 year old daughter.
One Love Movement, a group of Cambodian-American activists who fight against unjust detention and deportation, is appreciative of City Council’s efforts to bring to light the struggles of non-citizen communities in Philadelphia. “ICE breaks families apart in our community everyday, it has to stop,” said Ria Cruz, organizer with One Love Movement, on the day of the announcement. “Council did the right thing for our City this afternoon by standing up to the federal programs that are harmful to the families in our City. Council is seeing us as human beings.” This Resolution is particularly timely, given the recent indefinite detention of Cambodian-American community members over the past nine months; which led up to their permanent deportation to Cambodia several weeks ago, separating them from children, family, and the homes they have created after coming here as refugees over two decades ago. “The community continues to fight for individualized review and reformation of harsh legislation on matters of deportation,” continues Cruz. “However, today we are encouraged and humbled by our City representatives’ stance to protect its community members from the inhumane practices of ICE.”
While the Resolution itself is non-binding and has no immediate effect on current policies, it shows that there is political will in the City’s leadership to stop ICE from interfering with the livelihoods of the people of Philadelphia. One Love Movement will continue to work with City Council to enact future policy changes, and thank them for validating the struggle and for creating a foundation for protecting human and civil rights in communities here in Philadelphia.
