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Public commenters urge Pittsburgh council to back ordinances limiting local cooperation with ICE
Summary
At the March 24 council meeting, dozens of public commenters urged passage of proposed ordinances that would restrict city cooperation with ICE and border patrol; supporters described chilling effects on immigrant access to services while some speakers warned the measures risked exceeding city authority and undermining federal law.
Speakers at Pittsburgh City Council’s March 24 meeting urged council members to move quickly on a package of ordinances that would limit cooperation between city agencies and federal immigration enforcement.
Maddie McGrady, human rights program manager at Global Switchboard, told the council she was “in total support of the proposed legislation to ban cooperation between the city with ICE and border patrol except where required by law,” thanked councilmembers Gross, Warwick and Strassburger for sponsoring the package, and urged the council to pass it without delay.
The hearing included multiple perspectives. Laius Alexander, a psychotherapist and immigrant from Penn Hills, said clinical experience shows immigrants are avoiding therapy and medical care because of enforcement fears and urged protections so people can access services. Holly Hickling, executive director of Global Switchboard, told the council the proposals were “very constitutional, very legal” and urged measures that prevent outcomes like a recent death she described after an immigrant’s release from detention.
Opponents also spoke. Mark Muschmitt (9th Ward) urged adherence to federal law and called the proposals a form of “quasi-sanctuary city legislation,” arguing that city action cannot override federal immigration responsibilities. Ralph Williams, another commenter, framed his opposition around public-safety concerns and said ICE has a role in removing “troublemakers.”
Speakers raised other related topics: Bethany Cameron of InformUp.org summarized a 120-response community survey showing 75% of respondents were uncomfortable with police use of license-plate readers and urged that comprehensive planning prioritize disadvantaged neighborhoods and young people. Several commenters pushed for more youth programming and downtown supervised spaces as alternatives to arrest.
Council staff read a set of ordinances and resolutions as introduced that would add prohibitions and restrictions to the Pittsburgh Code (bills noted in the meeting as 2-87, 2-88 and 2-89 and a related ordinance 2-86); those items were introduced during the meeting and will be scheduled for committee consideration rather than voted on in today’s session. Separately, the council introduced Bill 2-90 authorizing intergovernmental cooperative agreements for police and public services; a motion to waive rules placed that item on tomorrow’s committee agenda.
The public-comment period was the most time-consuming portion of the meeting and reflected sharply divergent public views: several immigrant-rights organizations and individuals urged protections and cited fear of enforcement, while other residents urged strict adherence to federal immigration law and emphasized public-safety concerns. The council took no final votes today on the immigration ordinances introduced; their next steps are committee hearings and scheduling for future action.
What’s next: The ordinances referenced at the meeting were introduced for council consideration; committee scheduling was discussed for some items and the council indicated several would appear on upcoming committee agendas.
