Dear Friends,
Across the country, troubling reports have surfaced from federal immigration enforcement operations, including a widely shared video from Minneapolis in which an ICE agent told a bystander, “If you raise your voice, I will erase your voice.” It’s a statement that has sparked intense backlash because it captures a fundamentally un-American idea: the notion that someone can be silenced, or worse, simply for speaking up.
Our Constitution was designed to prevent exactly this kind of intimidation. From the First Amendment’s protection of free speech to the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure, American law insists that government power be exercised within clear legal and constitutional limits, not in the heat of the moment, at the whim of an individual agent, or based on who is exercising their rights or whom they support politically.
This legislative package before the Pennsylvania House reflects that principle. It is about ensuring that enforcement authorities, federal or otherwise, operate with transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental constitutional rights, so that no Pennsylvanian’s voice can truly be “erased” by an officer acting without clear legal authority.
In that spirit, I introduced a House Resolution that is a companion bill to Senator Collett’s Resolution affirming a simple but essential principle: constitutional rights are not conditional. The protections of the U.S. Constitution, due process, equal protection, and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, apply to everyone in Pennsylvania, regardless of citizenship, who someone voted for, the color of their skin, or immigration status. This resolution is not about immigration policy; it is about the obligation of every government official to uphold the Constitution.
Recent events underscore why this matters. In January, ICE officers killed Renée Good during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Weeks later, ICE officers killed Alex Pretti, a federal nurse protesting ICE’s presence. These incidents, alongside documented patterns of intimidation, misinformation, and unlawful enforcement tactics, raise serious concerns about the use of deadly force and adherence to constitutional standards.
Other administrations have conducted widespread immigration enforcement without public fear or the abrogation of citizens’ constitutional rights. This resolution condemns unconstitutional uses of deadly force by federal immigration officers, affirms that no agency is above the Constitution, calls for oversight and reform of enforcement practices, and urges Congress to ensure accountability and transparency. When law enforcement violates constitutional limits, leaders must speak up. The Constitution is a promise and Pennsylvania must keep it.
Below are additional bills currently before the House that are designed to ensure federal immigration enforcement operates responsibly in Pennsylvania while protecting public safety and constitutional rights. While several of these measures are expected to pass the House, they may stall in the Senate. I encourage you to contact your Senator and urge their support.
House Bill 1872 would prohibit the Pennsylvania State Police from conducting civil immigration arrests or entering into 287(g) agreements that deputize local officers for federal immigration enforcement.
House Bill 1968 would allow Pennsylvanians and prosecutors to seek legal relief when federal agencies like ICE engage in unconstitutional searches, seizures, or detentions. Additional bills would ban warrantless civil immigration arrests on state property, including courthouses, and require ICE officers to clearly identify themselves, prohibiting masks or concealed badges.
Courthouses and schools must remain safe and accessible. No one should fear seeking justice or attending school. Federally deployed agents have increasingly turned courthouses into ambush sites, discouraging survivors and witnesses from coming forward and undermining due process. Schools should be places of learning, not fear. Immigration raids, or even the threat of them, erode trust, disrupt neighborhoods, and leave students feeling unsafe. Colleagues across Pennsylvania report families keeping children home out of fear, and similar patterns have been documented in Minneapolis. This legislation would require school districts to adopt clear protocols for responding to immigration enforcement, protecting student privacy, guiding staff, and ensuring that any civil arrest on school grounds requires a judicial warrant.
Taken together, these measures protect constitutional rights, strengthen community safety, and ensure that all Pennsylvanians, whether going to court, attending school, or going about their daily lives, can do so without fear. They reflect growing legislative attention to federal immigration enforcement in our communities and seek to increase accountability, clarify authority, and uphold the rule of law.
House Bill 1968 specifically reinforces the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Despite being firmly established in the Constitution, these rights are routinely challenged by federal agencies like ICE. Reports document warrantless and often violent arrests of legal residents and U.S. citizens, including individuals carrying valid identification who were unlawfully detained for days in overcrowded, punitive conditions. As a state legislator, I have a duty to protect Pennsylvanians from illegal government overreach, just as our predecessors did 250 years ago.
House Bill 1880, which I co-sponsored, establishes the Officer Visibility Act. Over the past year, ICE officers have conducted enforcement actions while concealing their identities, creating unsafe conditions for the public and for law enforcement alike. In light of high-profile incidents involving impersonation of officers including the recent targeted assassination of state legislators in Minnesota, visual accountability is essential.
This bill requires clear identification, including a name or badge number, uniform, and agency affiliation; prohibits masks or facial coverings except in authorized undercover or public health situations; increases criminal penalties for impersonating law enforcement, with mandatory minimums when violence is involved; and establishes civil penalties for officers who fail to properly identify themselves. These provisions enhance public safety, protect officers, increase transparency, and deter political violence.
House Bill 1804, the Protect Pennsylvanians Act, safeguards residents, their privacy, and critical state programs when the federal government oversteps or unlawfully withholds funds. The Act protects Pennsylvania’s budget by allowing the Commonwealth to temporarily halt payments to the federal government and place liens on federal property until funds are restored. It also grants individuals the right to seek legal remedies when their rights are violated and limits the sharing of personally identifiable information that could be misused.
The following bills will soon be introduced to strengthen constitutional protections, improve public safety, and increase accountability in federal immigration enforcement.
Prohibiting State Funds for Federal Immigration Enforcement
State and local resources are currently used to enforce federal civil immigration laws, including through 287(g) agreements. Evidence shows these arrangements undermine public safety by eroding community trust and discouraging crime reporting. This legislation would prohibit the use of state-appropriated funds for federal immigration enforcement.
Ending Police Immigration Enforcement Agreements (287(g))
287(g) agreements deputize local officers to perform federal immigration duties at significant cost to municipalities and with little public safety benefit. Communities with these agreements experience lower trust in law enforcement and higher crime rates. This bill would prohibit local law enforcement agencies from entering into 287(g) agreements.
Documenting ICE Civil Liberties Violations
Federal immigration raids have increasingly involved unlawful searches, due process violations, racial profiling, and excessive force including the detention of U.S. citizens. This bill would authorize the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to receive and document complaints against ICE or cooperating agencies and refer them for investigation and prosecution where appropriate.
These bills send a clear message: no Pennsylvanian’s voice can be silenced, no one’s rights can be ignored, and no government official is above the Constitution. By protecting our communities, schools, and courthouses, we are ensuring that everyone can go about their lives without fear of intimidation or abuse.
In addition to the constitutional protections outlined above, recent public remarks by former White House strategist Steve Bannon have raised alarms about the possibility of federal immigration agents being deployed at polling places during the 2026 midterm elections to intimidate people and suppress voting. On his War Room podcast, Bannon said, “You’re damn right we’re gonna have ICE surround the polls come November." Statements like this, and the administration’s refusal to categorically rule out ICE presence near voting locations, are why I am also examining the possibility of state legislation to explicitly prohibit ICE, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or any other federal agents from being within a defined distance of a polling site or exercising enforcement jurisdiction thereon on election day in such a way as to intimidate voters. We need to safeguard voters’ constitutional rights against intimidation and ensure that every Pennsylvanian, regardless of political party or affiliation, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic status, can cast their ballot free from fear or interference.
In my next email, I’ll turn to the Governor’s budget address and what it means for our Commonwealth because just as we must defend our constitutional rights, we must also fight for responsible, accountable governance that works for all Pennsylvanians.