Public commenters at York County meeting clash over immigration and election integrity

Two members of the public used the July 16 York County Board of Commissioners meeting to offer sharply different perspectives on immigration and elections.

Thomas Pope, who identified himself as a York County resident, told the board, “To be very frank and blunt, elections have consequences,” and urged that “until they verify that they're legal immigrants, they need to have ICE officers come here and take them.” He said, “In this county, there's a minimum of 3,000 Haitian immigrants,” and later asserted that the group would “vote Democrat.” Pope also said, “We have to have election integrity,” and advanced several claims about past elections; the transcript shows a board official interrupted the speaker when his allotted time expired.

Responding from the public‑comment period, Dr. Larry Walter, senior pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in York, invoked the lines “Give me your tired, your poor. Give me your huddled masses yearning to be free,” and said the quotation reflects American values. He told the board, “I stand here to go on record to say that I'm offended that Haitian immigrants, Jamaican immigrants, and African immigrants are outlined as the problem in our society,” and urged that residents and elected officials treat one another with respect.

Discussion vs. decision: these remarks were part of the meeting’s public‑comment period; no board action followed from the comments. The transcript records both speakers’ statements and an official’s time admonition but no formal response by the board or additional staff action.

Context: the meeting included multiple agenda items and two presentations earlier in the session; the immigration remarks were made during the public‑comment period and do not reflect a board policy change or finding.

What’s next: no follow‑up action by the board was recorded in the transcript; the public‑comment exchange stands as differing community viewpoints recorded in the meeting minutes.