WHEREAS, Pennsylvania House Bill 1302, entitled the Police and Community Safety Act, was introduced by State Representative Christopher Rabb on April 28, 2017 and referred to the House Committee on State Government; and
WHEREAS, The purpose of House Bill 1302 is to
ensure effective policing, protect the safety and well-being of Pennsylvanians, uphold constitutional principles, and honor law enforcement officers’ oath to protect and serve the families and neighborhoods that rely of them across our Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Entangling State and local agencies with Federal immigration enforcement programs diverts already limited resources and blurs the lines of accountability between Federal, State and local governments. The bill would take the burden and cost of enforcing federal immigration law off local and state police in Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, A relationship of trust between Pennsylvania's immigrant community and State and local agencies is central to the public safety of the people of this Commonwealth. When State and local agencies are tasked with Federal immigration enforcement this trust can be compromised if immigrant community members fear approaching police when they are victims of and witnesses to crimes, to the detriment of public safety and the well-being of all citizens of this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, State and local participation in Federal immigration enforcement programs also raises constitutional concerns, including the prospect that citizens could be detained in violation of the Fourth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and targeted on the basis of race or ethnicity or denied access to education based on immigration status; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 1302 seeks to ensure effective policing to protect the safety, well-being and constitutional rights of the residents of this Commonwealth and to direct limited government resources to matters of greatest concern to State and local governments; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia has taken significant steps through its Sanctuary City Policy to extend protections to undocumented immigrants, including those who are victims and witnesses to crime; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby supports House Bill 1302
which would bar
Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies from using
state resources
to investigate, interrogate, detain,
detect
or arrest people for immigration enforcement purposes.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Pennsylvania House Committee on State Government as evidence of the strong support of this legislative body.
End