Stowe commissioners voted for a second time last night to overturn a taskforce agreement with ICE, following public opposition.
Since the 287(g) agreement was first inked last November, Stowe police have conducted no operations with ICE, said commission President Jeff Paul in an interview after the Sept. 8 meeting.
“We felt like it was the right path to rescind it because it was kind of a moot agreement,” Paul said, noting it had drawn criticism.
Last night’s vote marked the second time the township backed out of a partnership with federal immigration officers since signing in November. The township overturned it in December following inquiries from Public Source but renewed it later that month. A database maintained by ICE of participating departments nationwide no longer lists Stowe.
Jaime Martinez, director of Frontline Dignity, said in a statement that township leadership “did something important last night: It listened to its community and changed its course.”
“Our police officers should be people our neighbors can call when they are afraid, not people they are afraid to call,” he added.
Andrew Federoff, a Stowe resident who attended the meeting, said several people spoke out in opposition but noted it felt rushed. His wife, Sara Eve Rivera, said she got there not long after the posted start time and found the doors locked.
“The feeling I got was, ‘We don’t need to hear your grievances as much because we’re going to rescind it anyway,’” said Federoff, adding, “They didn’t say it specifically.”
Commissioner Tyler Kochirka said in a statement the decision to rescind came “after careful consideration of what we believe is in the best interest of our community.”
Paul said police initially sought out the agreement in part because of financial incentives: If Stowe officers assisted with traffic stops, they could claim reimbursements. But the only time township officers have so far turned anyone into ICE custody was during a traffic stop before the deal was inked, he said.
“We are a country of laws and our department will be enforcing the laws. I don’t think they need the agreement to do that.”
Township officials did not turn over any records of communications with ICE or receipts showing transactions in response to Right-to-Know Law request Public Source filed earlier this year.
Only three departments in Allegheny County currently partner with ICE, according to the federal database: Springdale Borough, Versailles and Pitcairn – with the latter signing just last week.
Robinson and Munhall previously had ICE agreements.
Martinez said he wants the township to go a step further by passing a welcoming resolution.
“Put into policy what this decision says in practice: that local resources will not be used to help ICE separate our neighbors from their families,” he said.
Jamie Wiggan is deputy editor for Pittsburgh’s Public Source and can be reached at jamie@publicsource.org.
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