Bucks Co. Court Affirms Sheriff’s Partnership Program With I.C.E.

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A court ruling on Wednesday affirmed the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office's authority to participate in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 287(g) task force program.

The decision allows Sheriff Fred Harran to move forward with the initiative, which the sheriff's department says "provides a targeted tool for identifying individuals taken into custody based on existing criminal charges and outstanding Bucks County warrants who are also in the country illegally."

“Today’s court ruling is a victory for the law-abiding residents of Bucks County and a validation of a common-sense approach to public safety which fully leverages partnerships and resources to keep our communities safe," said Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran. "This decision affirms our ability to use this simple tool to ensure individuals who commit crimes in our county are held fully accountable – regardless of their immigration status."

In his ruling, Judge Jeffrey Trauger said the sheriff's limited cooperation "is clearly lawful under Pennsylvania jurisprudence and is reasonable and necessary in fulfilling his lawful duty to keep the workers and daily visitors to the Bucks County Justice Center and citizens of Bucks County safe. This cooperation is wholly consistent with his past and present cooperation and coordination with other state and federal law enforcement agencies for the protection of Bucks County residents as authorized under all applicable state and federal laws."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Community Justice Project, which filed the lawsuit against Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran in August, vowed to appeal the ruling and said it won't stop fighting to hold the sheriff accountable.

“This is not about public safety. This is about intimidation. This is about turning our neighborhoods into surveillance zones. This is about weaponizing local law enforcement to carry out ICE’s harmful agenda. This decision doesn’t mean that we’ll stop fighting to hold Sheriff Harran accountable. Rather, we will redouble our efforts in this case and continue to fight for what is right,” said Diana Robinson, co-executive director of Make the Road Pennsylvania.

"This fight is far from over," said Stephen Loney, senior supervising attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. "It's unfortunate that the judge in this case failed to appreciate what the law clearly states; the sheriff does not have authority to sign onto a 287(g) agreement with ICE. We will appeal this decision and, in the meantime, we will continue to work to hold Sheriff Harran accountable to the rule of law."

In its lawsuit, the groups argued that the Sheriff had entered into the agreement with ICE without the authorization of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, who serve as the county’s governing body. "The county commissioners have since codified their opposition to the agreement in a vote formally disavowing the sheriff’s actions," the ACLU said.

"Such agreements have been proven to open the door to harmful and insidious racial profiling, poor jail conditions, and other civil rights violations, all of which expose the county and its taxpayers to legal liability," the ACLU argued.

“You don’t have to go back very far into recent history to see how futile and fruitless these types of agreements have been in other Pennsylvania counties,” said Stephen Loney, senior supervising attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “Local law enforcement is not equipped to operate as immigration agents and often make serious mistakes that can put the lives and livelihoods of those they target in serious jeopardy and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. Bucks County deserves better.

Harran said the partnership program "is a targeted public safety tool, not a license for general immigration enforcement. Today’s ruling is a definitive rejection of the misinformation that has served to confuse residents and hamper the critical mission of our law enforcement officers. Now that the court has affirmed our position, we can move past these distractions and continue our mission to protect the families of Bucks County."

Harran also called the partnership a "fiscally responsible force multiplier for our taxpayers as the specialized training for our deputies is provided at no cost to the county. Furthermore, by transferring individuals who are not in the country legally to federal custody, we avoid the local costs of incarceration.

"I have the utmost confidence in our highly trained deputies to execute this narrow and specific function with the professionalism they demonstrate every day," he said.