[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6373538,"mediaKeyId","2145790-2fa0ddaa8a046f45fdf64e7ec2207790","parentId",2145790,"title","LGBTQ and reproductive‑rights advocates warn Philadelphia to shore up protections and services amid federal rollbacks","audioSeconds",419,"startMs",4146000,"endMs",4565000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2145790-2fa0ddaa8a046f45fdf64e7ec2207790&start=4146&end=4565","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2145790-2fa0ddaa8a046f45fdf64e7ec2207790/thumbnail_4146000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6373538/Philadelphia-City/Philadelphia-County/Pennsylvania/LGBTQ-and-reproductiverights-advocates-warn-Philadelphia-to-shore-up-protections-and-services-amid-federal-rollbacks","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6373538-7dc251deafbdb43311f953abfa097c92/orig.mp4?Expires=1777079586&Signature=GZ6SHCRlZjJSiJXXsxHjAz2puVp736ldKIy4EmtUIeI5wXhHVMxt7A5ZbH564h7900z-rIYQuFN8IGr~WyMaY8rLiaToFv7GIfM1oVBJFYEAiv9ASZ3wqyUAO3rDRspgwP2ZF3F9e4NtvWfLWnkZ1C0pEhxEG7EnWHg2LWcBwQlbbWJ2zKZENjEoSX7Jl1D5qzSAiGDzPICyNc3atTswfxQ3E-2sknTZSOvpaZdQ1UE4Or1GPU1t~E08KmeEu~p3ghvrXk~C3M1lJnTwNjBOWuc23zG3clVhB-03l1oTtg7DXcRIy9Nfqs6d~zfR6Mf1ybpRV3C0eOskw2SMvLgR3A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Philadelphia City Council","date","2025-01-22T00:00:00Z","article","National and local civil‑liberties groups told the committee that recent federal executive orders threaten LGBTQ+ protections and reproductive access and urged Philadelphia to reinforce local enforcement and services.

Harper Seldon, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, said the ACLU expects attacks on transgender rights and health care to be pursued at the federal level and noted a recent spike in state‑level anti‑LGBTQ bills nationwide. \"The goal of these attacks is to remove transgender people from all walks of public and civic life,\" Seldon said, and urged local government to fund services and robustly enforce nondiscrimination ordinances.

Evelyn Mangold of the Women’s Law Project described Pennsylvania’s current abortion restrictions — including waiting‑period and parental consent laws and a statutory ban on Medicaid coverage for abortion — and said those limits disproportionately affect low‑income people and young people. Mangold noted a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that strengthened the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Amendment and said the organization will challenge the state ban on Medicaid coverage next month in Commonwealth Court.

City witnesses and advocates emphasized local steps the city can take: fund community organizations that provide health care and housing, protect sensitive health data, expand language access, and support legal and social services for people seeking gender‑affirming care or reproductive health care. Several public commenters urged the city to affirm that gender‑affirming care will continue to be provided in Philadelphia even if federal policy changes.

No council action was taken at the hearing; advocates asked the city to prioritize enforcement of existing nondiscrimination ordinances and to work with state legislators to remove Pennsylvania’s abortion restrictions.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Committee of Law and Government 1-22-2025","oneSentenceSummary","The ACLU and women’s‑rights attorneys told the council the city must enforce nondiscrimination protections, protect gender‑affirming care locally and pursue state reforms to preserve reproductive access.","taxTitle","Philadelphia City, Philadelphia County , Pennsylvania","taxId",80615,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6373543,"City solicitor, ACLU outline legal basis for Philadelphia’s no‑detainer and nondisclosure policies",1312,2544000,3856000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2145790-2fa0ddaa8a046f45fdf64e7ec2207790&start=2544&end=3856","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2145790-2fa0ddaa8a046f45fdf64e7ec2207790/thumbnail_2544000.jpg","/articles/6373543/Philadelphia-City/Philadelphia-County/Pennsylvania/City-solicitor-ACLU-outline-legal-basis-for-Philadelphias-nodetainer-and-nondisclosure-policies","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6373543-7ad891e163f4b46eae3f4e2d088b7074/orig.mp4?Expires=1777079586&Signature=Rkfq4ry~3j3kXiG-R2vacVBcOBuv9lPuikZBscHEFEkMR9zflxTe4CY2FqaqRQ2098b0ZOnTQW4OsXUlk-R8bVUSwM0ISvvhTYXcLkcje-g-JLx3dV7NYl5njgpCi~P~RWs9h0LM0qoNavvfkyIAlvtKGYKTVtGVVrYqkDp55qFTjwfQzKDAcZ~V1~Js3yMoWZX~hMxuM8bFFkYeq5d3pzO3NTS77g6d~2Q~rHhBwP01qeWlhxNL5kxB294HJwVPhxlGVuhWqjbfbI6WRg8ZiN7mzpVy9a6XHKbpWpH5Iu9LQipNW6yuvgonmeMZHkFljmhFqsDVxXRErmaXBVmJrQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City Solicitor Renee Garcia told City Council committee members that Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance and two executive orders form the legal backbone for city protections discussed at the hearing.

Garcia said Executive Order 0516 directs city agencies not to honor ICE detainer requests and to honor only judiciously issued judicial warrants. She described Executive Order 0809 as ensuring city services are available “regardless of immigration status” and prohibiting city employees from asking about immigration status unless required to provide a specific service; a confidentiality clause restricts internal disclosure of any immigration information held by city agencies.

\"We do not honor detainer requests. And under the law, we do not have to honor detainer requests. We honor judicial warrants,\" the city solicitor said in response to council questions about EO0516.

Vanessa Stein, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, explained how ICE detainer hold requests function in practice, calling them non‑mandatory requests that ask local jails to hold people beyond release dates. Stein said Philadelphia’s policies are grounded in Fourth Amendment detention principles and help protect trust between immigrant communities and local service providers while reducing municipal liability. She also referenced Police Memorandum 0106, which limits the circumstances under which police may share immigration status information.

Stein told the committee that courts, including the Third Circuit, have rejected federal attempts to withhold funding from jurisdictions that decline to honor ICE holds; she urged the city to stand firm in enforcing existing policies.

City and nonprofit counsel agreed to produce more detailed briefings for council staff about how the executive orders operate across city departments and to circulate copies of the federal executive orders that spurred the hearing.

The hearing did not produce any council votes to change city policy. Officials repeatedly cautioned that the laws and policies discussed are complex and that further legal analysis and interagency coordination will be required before any change.","Philadelphia’s leading municipal lawyers and civil‑liberties groups described city executive orders and police memoranda that limit honoring ICE detainer requests and restrict immigration inquiries by city employees, and explained why courts have upheld those local policies.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6373550,"Advocates tell Philadelphia council schools must fully implement sanctuary and newcomer supports",533,1109000,1642000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2145790-2fa0ddaa8a046f45fdf64e7ec2207790&start=1109&end=1642","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2145790-2fa0ddaa8a046f45fdf64e7ec2207790/thumbnail_1109000.jpg","/articles/6373550/Philadelphia-City/Philadelphia-County/Pennsylvania/Advocates-tell-Philadelphia-council-schools-must-fully-implement-sanctuary-and-newcomer-supports","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6373550-ade4425dac5959c24cd6a6be3237343d/orig.mp4?Expires=1777079586&Signature=bH3FeyOZyg~aoHsWKX~tP1cQZpZ~YSvr-Hl0z6D8uiRuKFu1Ebs150cUrnJ3Z48W8J-rQg7rNZqAll00fyZ-abRNhCMjFJkXpgLJSZje9p7WqFuXIVtXMnesopRZKP3zLRW-dtohxfMWPOt4nPP5lwX3TjSon9BjSCebjigNingdcyPmOh~FLJiv0lVuPfh-4GOh2Jj69q7HZi22b03aIFowr~E6yiLiUzLH-mcsJ3jFLTNTpaaEZvqDE9I5oixDHqV8IuMlCBzmEv8NfKn4LUH4BdFeHW5-1wrbnEI-rqVxwDnG~s~L2630Fp5WXFsam-y9oOXypKSastz4GcLk~A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Officials from the School District of Philadelphia told a City Council Committee the district has policies and training in place to support LGBTQ+ students and immigrant families, but community advocates said the district has not fully implemented the sanctuary schools resolution passed in 2021.

Dr. Jamie Banks, chief of student support services, and Dr. Natalie Nere, chief of special education and diverse learners, said the district has nondiscrimination policies and a Policy 252 governing transgender and gender‑nonconforming students that allows chosen names and pronouns in school records and use of facilities consistent with students’ gender identity. Banks told the committee the district supports 104 GSAs (gender‑sexuality alliances) across middle and high schools and that an LGBTQ+ coordinator would begin on Feb. 7.

Dr. Nere described district protocols if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents request access to a school: staff are instructed to immediately notify the Office of General Counsel, obtain documentation (a subpoena or judicial warrant) and refer any access request to legal counsel. The district is updating an immigrant/refugee toolkit and said a letter outlining policies would be distributed soon; staff training is being offered through asynchronous and synchronous modules.

Advocates from Juntos and other grassroots groups said the district has not fully implemented training, newcomer programs, or a districtwide ICE response protocol required by the sanctuary schools resolution. Juntos executive director Erica Guadalupe Nunez said a 2024 survey of 152 school staff showed only 56% had participated in ICE response training, 14% had training on interpretation services and 33% believed their schools could communicate adequately with newcomer families.

Nunez asked council to commit $2,000,000 to create two newcomer programs (30 seats each) in South and Northeast Philadelphia, and urged the district to restore supports such as the Multilingual Assessment Center, which the group said had been cut.

Transcript excerpts in testimony noted the district had conducted training for principals and counselors in 2023 and 2024 and that professional development on Policy 252 was ongoing. School officials and advocates agreed more work remains to ensure timely dissemination of protocols and consistent training across schools.","School District officials described policies to protect immigrant and LGBTQ+ students; community groups said district has not fully implemented the 2021 Welcoming Sanctuary Schools resolution and requested funding for newcomer programs and more training.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6373554,"Advocates at Philadelphia hearing push for expanded immigrant legal defense funding as federal orders raise fear",4308,1739000,6047000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2145790-2fa0ddaa8a046f45fdf64e7ec2207790&start=1739&end=6047","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2145790-2fa0ddaa8a046f45fdf64e7ec2207790/thumbnail_1739000.jpg","/articles/6373554/Philadelphia-City/Philadelphia-County/Pennsylvania/Advocates-at-Philadelphia-hearing-push-for-expanded-immigrant-legal-defense-funding-as-federal-orders-raise-fear","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6373554-3dd10783ab52d0c91f5700d922845510/orig.mp4?Expires=1777079586&Signature=Gn3DsaUG9ixdvcHN~h-s~MKecqan92-cPKSMcssHJkucHoitH1OgH0vKDWTEsVoRXD9kZ9pwu0S47uyTlWG5Q7cSP3dIKiXjZGL0laxO0nixOhrpj--5pxgP6Tg1Jg1hw1mtAHHG230M48YmwjgTAagp~Pblav27BSpccii3CMQYvGREReU67XB1stLKA6gmp5-SygDhoL7aRDYu6BNzRSP8EiIuT1Vp5G6zvs13TXxUfWJ2Mt~N4VOSsZPPh3yUg5lpkVHfNrz0gmY-1eZEROW4NbpS6MRdU89NKGlJPNHeDLQdwtqfm5N-LzqAPKRGHKHYoTC2oHTrbuw9zWxnEQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Councilmember Roux Landau convened the Committee on Law and Government on Jan. 22 to hear testimony on Resolution 241090, which asks the committee to examine Philadelphia’s readiness to protect immigrants, LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized communities after recent federal executive orders.

Speakers from the Defender Association of Philadelphia, the Nationality Service Center and the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition urged the city to expand publicly funded immigration representation. A representative of the Defender Association said the agency plans to create an immigration defense unit with a proposed 13‑member staffing model and asked the city to absorb existing PIFUP (Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project) funding of $500,000 per year and provide an additional $800,000 to staff and operate the unit.

Steven Larin, deputy director of the Nationality Service Center, said universal representation matters: \"Representation matters,\" he told the committee, citing national and local success rates for represented clients. Larin said PIFUP had represented more than 200 Philadelphia clients since 2019 and that detained clients with counsel had markedly higher success rates than those without. Julio Rodriguez of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition asked the council to fund the Philadelphia Immigrant Family Unity Project at $1,300,000.

Speakers described how lack of counsel affects prosecutions, victims and families. Bob Lisenby, first assistant district attorney, told the committee that previous changes in ICE enforcement discouraged victims and witnesses from coming to court and warned that mass deportations would hurt public safety and “are anti‑family.” He provided the DA’s victim‑witness unit phone number and email for support services.

Community groups and legal providers also asked the council to invest in language access and wraparound services for newly arriving refugees and immigrant families. Larin noted refugee resettlement programs and humanitarian parole mechanisms have been suspended or restricted at the federal level and urged the city to bolster local services — including housing, English classes and job training — if federal funding contracts.

No formal appropriation or vote on funding was recorded during the hearing. Several organizations said they will submit written budget requests and asked council to consider those requests as part of the city’s upcoming budget process.

The hearing included multiple requests for expanded city funding or reallocation to support legal representation for people in removal proceedings and for emergency services to respond to increased enforcement. Councilmembers asked administration and agency witnesses to circulate executive orders and policy guidance to staff and council offices so elected officials and their staffs can better explain protections and limits of city policy to constituents.

Advocates said funding would reduce risk of family separation, improve public‑safety outcomes tied to victim participation and reduce downstream costs associated with detention and deportation.","Defense attorneys, nonprofit legal providers and immigration advocates told a City Council Committee hearing that Philadelphia must expand publicly funded immigration legal services and language access as new federal executive orders have heightened fear of detention and family separation.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

LGBTQ and reproductive‑rights advocates warn Philadelphia to shore up protections and services amid federal rollbacks

City solicitor, ACLU outline legal basis for Philadelphia’s no‑detainer and nondisclosure policies

Advocates tell Philadelphia council schools must fully implement sanctuary and newcomer supports

Advocates at Philadelphia hearing push for expanded immigrant legal defense funding as federal orders raise fear