An Allegheny Valley divided by the federal immigration crackdown saw public debate across two boroughs and one school district on Tuesday evening.
Oakmont council passed, 7-0, a resolution barring the borough from engaging in enforcement of non-criminal immigration laws.
Springdale Borough Council faced scores of citizens apparently opposed to the immigration crackdown, but officials there took no action to rescind their police department’s cooperation agreement with ICE, and refused to comment.
The Allegheny Valley School District’s board, which guides the education of around 900 children in Springdale Borough, Springdale Township, Harmar and Cheswick, saw introduction of a policy that would aim to keep ICE off of school property.
Springdale and Oakmont are just three miles apart along the Allegheny River. Both have overwhelmingly white, native-born populations. But two arrests have made them Southwestern Pennsylvania’s ICE flashpoints in the wake of a Minneapolis immigration crackdown that has divided the nation.
On Jan. 29, ICE agents arrested Jose Flores, originally from Nicaragua, outside of his home as he was preparing to take his daughter to school. The Oakmont Bakery employee was released on Feb. 7 after a high-profile campaign and apparent intervention by U.S. Sen. David McCormick of Pennsylvania and other elected officials.
On Feb. 10, Springdale Borough police pulled over Randy Cordova Flores, originally from Peru and seeking asylum, for a failure to use his turn signal, according to family members. Police turned him over to ICE, and that agency’s detainee locator said Tuesday that he was being held in its Moshannon Valley processing center, in Clearfield County.
Springdale: Upset citizens, silent officials
Around 10 members of a crowd of about 50 people spoke out against the borough’s 287(g) agreement under which police cooperate with ICE. None spoke in favor of the agreement. Before and after a roughly 40-minute public comment period, council members made no comment, prompting exasperation from the crowd.
Springdale by the numbers
- Square miles: 0.9
- Population: 3,319
- Percent white: 97% (vs. 76% in county)
- Median household income: $65,893 (vs. $78,548 in county)
- Poverty rate: 3.9% (vs. 11.5% in county)
- Foreign-born population: 1.7% (vs. 6.6% in county)
- Voted for Donald Trump in 2024: 52.6% (vs 39.2% in county)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024, analyzed by Census Reporter.
“I’m sure a lot of you are probably coming here looking to ask some questions, get some comments from the mayor and council,” borough attorney Craig Alexander said before the public comment period. “The statement I’ve been requested to make is to remind everybody that this is an ongoing investigation (into Cordova Flores), it’s a federal investigation. Council and the mayor won’t be offering any comment on that while this investigation is still progressing. … We welcome all of your comments tonight, and we’re going to listen to everybody.”
He later noted that borough officials would “respond to whatever they want to respond to” after the public comment period.
Several members of the public wanted to know why the borough signed its 287(g) agreement and whether they’d maintain it.
“I would like us to sit back, maybe even have a public vote, on whether or not to disband the vote on the ICE agreement,” said resident Matt Lang, to applause.
One man, Ian Hill, who was on the edge of a fracas at a Saturday protest in Springdale, alleged that borough police Chief Derek Dayoub at some point in the past threatened him with violence. Dayoub told the crowd that was false, leading to a back and forth that ended when the chief had security remove Hill from the building.
A teenager who said he doesn’t live in the borough wanted to speak. Council initially denied him, but acquiesced after the crowd overwhelmingly supported him. He said he felt the council didn’t have the right priorities and that its cooperation with ICE worried him.
One resident, Brittany Jackson, a mother who identified as half-white and half-Black, said she opposes the agreement and that it makes her feel less safe. “It’s right and wrong. Love,” Jackson said. “I don’t understand how hard it is to simply see someone else’s point of view and just love.”
Oakmont: ‘It’s not going to happen here again’
In Oakmont, nine residents gathered as council unanimously approved its resolution not to join in enforcement of non-criminal federal immigration laws. The resolution states that the borough will “neither enable ICE-related civil law enforcement nor enter into the ICE 287(g) program.” Council also prohibited cooperation with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.
During a brief public comment period, resident Tom Kerek spoke in favor of the measure, referring to ICE as “nothing but a bunch of thugs,” and criticizing agents for wearing masks to conceal their identities.
Oakmont by the numbers
- Square miles: 1.6
- Population: 6,702
- Percent white: 93% (vs. 76% in county)
- Median household income: $92,782 (vs. $78,548 in county)
- Poverty rate: 5.4% (vs. 11.5% in county)
- Foreign-born population: 0.9% (vs. 6.6% in county)
- Voted for Donald Trump in 2024: 40.2% (vs 39.2% in county)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024, analyzed by Census Reporter.
Council also unanimously passed a motion to send a letter to the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, regarding the detention of Flores. “The borough was not given advance notice of the operation, and the operation was conducted solely by ICE agents, without assistance or coordination from the borough or its Police Department,” the resolution read. The full letter will be sent to the agency and posted to the borough website.
Later, resident Christa Bartos expressed joy at the passage. “I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “I wish that more communities would do this and stand up for themselves. I’m so proud for Oakmont, and for our council, for being strong.”
“We have a country that was built with immigrants, freedom, and it’s being taken away, unless we stand up and say this isn’t going to happen and that’s what our community is doing, standing up and saying it’s not going to happen here again.”
Allegheny Valley: ‘Rapid response’ needed
Allegheny Valley school board member Amy Sarno introduced a “Welcoming Schools” resolution that will declare district schools as “safe zones” where students can seek information and get support regarding law enforcement interactions at the school.
Among other things, the resolution asks the school administration:
- To form a rapid response team within 10 days of passage to address immigration enforcement, including crafting policies and training on what to do if ICE agents want to enter school buildings, request student records or if a minor child attending school is deprived of adult care, supervision or guardianship due to a federal law enforcement action
- To form a policy that will not allow ICE agents to enter school property, non-public school areas or school-sponsored events
- To form a policy that will authorize only the superintendent or an administrator to respond to any requests made by ICE
- To form a policy that ensures the district will not collect any data about a student’s immigration or place of birth except in the case of a foreign exchange student, and to create a list of alternative documents that establish proof of residence.
Sarno said the immigration roundup in Minnesota and the passing of a similar resolution at nearby Riverview School District prompted her to form this resolution.
“Schools [in Minnesota] were really, as far as I can tell, really taken by surprise by many of the things that happened,” she said. “You don’t really, I think, prepare for the day when there are federal agents on school property outside of the buildings, tackling people.”
Board member Antonio Pollino said policies should not be formed based on the “news of the day” or focused on individual departments of the government and should be more generic.
“I think sometimes we jump the gun a little bit, and we instill fear and everybody and get everybody riled up,” he said.
Board member Rebecca Mundok supported the resolution and said it will be helpful to have guidance outlined in a single document as did Riverview.
Mandy Steinsdoerfer, a district parent, supported the resolution and said there is a need for stronger policies and staff training for interactions with federal law enforcement agencies.
The district will now pass the resolution to the solicitor for legal advice and revisit it in March.
Riverview schools approved policy last week
The detainment of Jose Flores prompted the Riverview School District in Oakmont to approve a student and staff safety policy last week.
Board President Antonio Paris, who introduced the policy during a public meeting on Feb. 2, said, “I think that [Flores’ detainment] really shook the core of our community as a whole, but also as our district. Because we may not have thought that that was possible in Oakmont. I think we continue to learn that anything is possible.”
The policy — approved 8-0 with one abstention — outlines guidance for district employees for interacting with law enforcement authorities such as the local police department; Children, Youth and Families services; state police and federal agencies such as ICE and DHS. It aims to comply with federal and state immigration laws and protect student safety, privacy and access to education on school grounds.
The policy also directs the superintendent to appoint one or more administrators to serve as law enforcement response officials.
Board member Leanne Jacobs-Rohan noted the new policy doesn’t introduce meaningful changes.
“I believe it was just made to look like the board was doing something during a heated time,” she said.
Paris, an attorney, said the policy sets “parameters” for the district and “gives the administration fallback.”
“They are doing now what they have been instructed to do versus what they think or what they’re being kind of guided to do, and so it takes the onus off of our administrators,” he said, noting that the policy follows PSBA guidelines.
Board member Adeshewa Metzger said the policy would make it easier for parents to find clear information in a single document.
Superintendent Neil English said it “wouldn’t hurt” to adopt such a policy.
Will local actions matter?
David Harris, a University of Pittsburgh law professor who specializes in law enforcement issues, said a local ordinance prohibiting police cooperation with ICE does nothing to prevent ICE from operating in that place. He said it could have the opposite effect local officials desire.
“It makes them more likely to attract ICE attention,” Harris said. “The people driving this whole thing at the top want to use this whole enforcement operation nationwide not just to deport people but to perform these policies, to show that they are being put in place to scare people and to show that nobody can stand in their way.
“So paradoxically, putting up a statement that we are not going to cooperate may actually attract attention from ICE. They’ll know that they won’t get help from the local law enforcement agency, but it may encourage them to have an operation just because they want to show they can’t be stopped.”
Harris added that municipalities’ decisions to have their police cooperate with ICE or not is most of all a matter of perception.
“What’s at stake here is whether or not the particular police department or sheriff’s office is seen by the public as part of the deportation operations of ICE,” Harris said. “And that’s critical to how the public views that agency.”
Harris said many police leaders want no part of immigration enforcement for this reason.
“They know that if they are seen … as part of the ICE deportation effort, there are certain people in their community who will stop trusting them, stop calling them, stop reporting things to them, things they need to know to make their communities safe,” Harris said.
Jason Lando, the new chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police (the county’s largest law enforcement agency), was unequivocal during his confirmation hearing before City Council earlier this year.
“ We’ve spent so much time and so much effort trying to build relationships in our communities,” Lando said to council, according to WESA. “This would be like us throwing that all out the window and taking steps backwards, if I were to say, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna take up immigration enforcement as one of our duties.’ We just don’t do that.”
Timeline: The arrests that roiled the Allegheny Valley
Jan. 29: Jose Flores is arrested outside of his Oakmont home.
Feb. 2: At a Riverview School District Board meeting, residents express disappointment that board hasn’t spoken out about ICE activity.
Feb. 4: Local, state and federal officials criticize the arrest and detention of Jose Flores.
Feb. 7: Jose Flores is released without explanation from ICE, but subject to “monitoring.”
Feb. 9: Riverview School District approves a student and staff safety policy.
Feb. 10: Randy Cordova Flores is stopped by Springdale Borough police and transferred to ICE custody, raising concerns at an Allegheny Valley School District board meeting.
Feb. 12: U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio issues a statement critical of the Cordova Flores arrest.
Feb. 13: ICE issues a statement claiming Cordova Flores entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 and missed an immigration proceeding
Feb. 14: A demonstration against the immigration crackdown in Springdale Borough drew more than 100 people and included a tense confrontation with a Trump supporter.
Matt Petras is an independent writer and adjunct professor based in Pittsburgh. He can be reached at matt456p@gmail.com.
Quinn Glabicki is the environment and climate reporter at Pittsburgh’s Public Source and can be reached at quinn@publicsource.org.
Lajja Mistry is the K-12 education reporter at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at lajja@publicsource.org.
Charlie Wolfson, Rich Lord and Jamie Wiggan contributed.
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