Coraopolis council voted Thursday evening to terminate a police partnership with ICE following an hour of tense public comment in the standing-room-only meeting of roughly 75 residents.
Coraopolis, which in recent years has seen a blossoming immigrant and Latino population, is the latest in a series of local municipalities to have formalized cooperation agreements with federal immigration enforcement only to back out of the program after public scrutiny.
On Thursday, Police Chief Jason Stewart shed more detail on the partnership, known as a 287(g) agreement, that was initially signed by former council President Robb Cardimen December 23.
ICE, Stewart said, approached him in December, offering financial incentives to the police department, including reimbursement for training and overtime pay, and one-time funding for new equipment. Stewart said that he did not feel it was his position to “turn away the benefits that came with the agreement,” and turned to council for approval. “It’s not up to me to enter into an agreement on behalf of the borough,” Stewart said.
The previous council approved the agreement in December. After three new members took their seats amid resident outcry, council voted 4-3 to terminate the partnership Thursday evening.
“I respect their vote, It’s their decision,” Stewart said, adding that his department would still assist ICE if asked to do so. “If ICE comes here, we are law enforcement officers. We are obligated to assist them.”
Prior to the termination vote, residents shared concerns with the 287(g) program.
“ICE has demonstrated themselves to be, over and over again, the purveyors of scary things,” said Tim Patterson, a nine-year resident and retired minister of the United Methodist Church. He said he opposed the agreement on moral grounds, hinting at a recent string of violence, including the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7 and the nonfatal shooting of two Venezuelans by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Portland a day later.
“To enter into agreement with ICE is to condone ICE’s behavior … It is to become an extension of that behavior and mindset,” Patterson said.
Randon Willard, executive director of the Coraopolis Community Development Corporation, pointed to the potential economic impact such an agreement could have on the community during an earlier meeting on Jan. 5.
Willard said that he had met with representatives of Las Palmas, a local Hispanic grocer, and the Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation. “Their message was clear: Coraopolis must decide if we want to be a diverse, mixed race, and welcoming community, or one that signals exclusion to Hispanic neighbors and business owners,” he said.
“Even when implemented with the best intentions, agreements like the 287(g) create fear within the Hispanic community. They lead families to relocate to more welcoming municipalities and discourage Hispanic-owned businesses from opening.”
Natalie Bezeck said her opposition to the agreement was not anti-police, “and it is not asking Coraopolis to vote to become a sanctuary city. These are not mutually exclusive ideas.”
Bezeck said that when she moved to the riverside town 12 years ago there wasn’t even a coffee shop, and that over time, “this town has become more family-friendly and vibrant. … I chose this town because of its multicultural background.”
“Coraopolis is a safe community today,” Bezeck said, turning to Chief Stewart and his officers and thanking them. “Introducing ICE enforcement into everyday local policing lowers perceived safety and increases fear in ordinary public spaces,” Bezeck said, sharing research with Stewart showing an erosion of trust among undocumented immigrants when local police partner with ICE, and noting that undocumented immigrants are less likely to report crimes to the police when local law enforcement works with ICE.
“As a domestic abuse survivor, it is important to me that every woman and child feels they are safe to call this local police,” Bezeck said. “It is possible to support law enforcement while recognizing that enforcement without clear guardrails and accountability carries significant liability. Coraopolis does not need to resolve the national immigration debate.”
Though the majority spoke against, several residents urged the council to uphold the partnership with ICE.
Teresa McLaughlin, a 49-year resident, said she took to carrying a gun in her yoga pants after perceiving safety concerns as the town’s population has shifted.
“Sometimes I walk down the street, and I was like, who the heck are these people, and where are they coming from?” she said.
“I believe in law and order,” said Robert Chartier, in support of the agreement. “We don’t necessarily have vetted individuals that are necessarily adding to the American dream.”
Ron Boyd shared concerns about crime, but said recent violence in Minneapolis gave him pause about escalating the response. “I just don’t think Coraopolis needs them kind of problems, which is in Minnesota, Minneapolis, Chicago, California, New York, everywhere, right now. I don’t think we need it.”
Councilors Rudy Bolea, Gary Flasco and Charles Spencer voted to retain the agreement.
“In my opinion, a lot of division has happened because of the news, social media and things that have happened nationally,” said Council President Mike Harris, who voted to terminate the agreement. “Nothing is going to change. We’re going to respond to whatever calls they are called to and that’s the way it’ll stay.”
Robinson backs out
In bordering Robinson, ICE records show that Police Chief Timothy Westwood signed an agreement with ICE in July, though following a Public Source inquiry the township disappeared from ICE’s list of participating agencies.
Reached in December, Robinson solicitor Jack Cambest told Public Source “there’s no agreement,” noting that any agreement would need to be brought before the township’s commissioners in a public vote. Cambest said that the agreement was never brought before the commissioners, nor was there ever a public vote. Robinson disappeared from the national list of partners shortly after.
Quinn Glabicki is a reporter and photojournalist at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at quinn@publicsource.org and on Instagram @quinnglabicki.
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