Commissioner asks solicitor to review county responses to ICE and warns of data-center impacts

An unidentified commissioner urged the county to examine how it should respond when federal immigration enforcement actions affect residents and asked the county solicitor to provide clear legal guidance on county responsibilities, data collection and protocols for responding to ICE inquiries.

“This is not about left or right. This is about right and wrong,” the commissioner said, urging protection for immigrant neighbors and asking specific legal questions: whether the county can limit cooperation when it jeopardizes community safety; whether nonjudicial detainers must be honored; what departmental data ICE can access; and what policies could minimize unnecessary collection of immigration-related data.

The commissioner requested that Solicitor Walker research what other Pennsylvania counties have done to protect immigrant residents while complying with constitutional and legal obligations. As an example of local concern, the speaker referenced a recent Dunmore case and said, “You have rights. You have protections under the United States Constitution. And you do not lose those rights because someone thinks you look like something else.”

On data centers, the same commissioner urged caution, saying proposals can demand “enormous amounts of water and massive electrical capacity” while delivering few permanent local jobs. He asked the solicitor and planning staff to assess whether state enabling legislation is needed for a county-level impact fee and said planning staff and local zoning boards are actively reviewing proposals.

Commissioners thanked public speakers who raised related points in the meeting’s public-comment period and agreed to have staff and the solicitor look into the legal and policy questions raised. No formal county policy or ordinance was adopted at the meeting; the request to the solicitor was a direction for legal research and reporting back to the board.