There is a lot of talk about sanctuary jurisdictions, yet there is no legal definition for the term “sanctuary city, county, or state.” Sanctuary areas are generally defined as regions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

However, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization, has a more specific definition. When you see someone claim a certain jurisdiction is or is not a sanctuary city, they’re quite often relying on the judgment of the CIS.

The CIS defines sanctuary as “these cities, counties, and states have laws, ordinances, regulations, resolutions, policies, or other practices that obstruct immigration enforcement and shield criminals from ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) — either by refusing to or prohibiting agencies from complying with ICE detainers, imposing unreasonable conditions on detainer acceptance, denying ICE access to interview incarcerated aliens, or otherwise impeding communication or information exchanges between their personnel and federal immigration officers.”

The CIS identifies eleven Pennsylvania sanctuary jurisdictions on its website: Allegheny County, Bucks County, Chester County, Dauphin County, Delaware County, Lancaster City, Lehigh County, Montgomery County, Montour County, Northampton County, and Philadelphia.

Generally speaking, whether or not the CIS judges a jurisdiction as “sanctuary” comes down to one thing: does the law enforcement agency cooperate fully with ICE? But there are some nuances to the answers to that question which can lead to differences in opinion on the level of cooperation.

Jessica Vaughan, the Director of Policy Studies for the CIS, says when someone is arrested and detained in a county or city prison, the facility takes fingerprints that are uploaded into a database. This database alerts ICE to check if any new prisoners are subject to deportation. ICE then issues a “detainer” to inform the prison that when the prisoner is ready for release from the facility, ICE will take the prisoner into custody.

According to ICE, “an immigration detainer serves three key functions: 1) to notify an LEA (law enforcement agency) that ICE intends to assume custody of an alien in the LEA’s custody once the alien is no longer subject to the LEA’s detention; 2) to request information from an LEA about an alien’s impending release so ICE may assume custody before the alien is released from the LEA’s custody; and 3) to request that the LEA maintain custody of an alien who would otherwise be released for a period not to exceed 48 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) to provide ICE time to assume custody.”

Vaughan said the primary reason that most Pennsylvania jurisdictions are included as sanctuary locations is due to item three above – maintaining custody of a prisoner for up to 48 hours before releasing them so that ICE will have time to pick them up. Her assertion was confirmed through Right to Know request responses from Chester and Montgomery Counties.

Chester County’s policy clearly does not comply with holding a prisoner past their release date and up to 48 hours. “No released subject will be held past his/her release date based upon an ICE request/detainer.”

Montgomery County’s policy has similar language. “MCCF will not hold the inmate for the 48 hour period on the ICE Detainer request form despite the fact the form indicates that MCCF can do so.”

Right to Know requests submitted to Delaware and Bucks Counties show that neither county has a written policy regarding ICE detainers.

Despite the fact that all four collar counties are listed on CIS as sanctuary jurisdictions, all four responded that they are not sanctuary counties or have no records indicating that they are a sanctuary county. And they claim that they cooperate fully with ICE.

Bucks County responded that they have no written policy or records declaring that the county is a sanctuary jurisdiction. The response did include a link to a March 6, 2024, commissioners’ meeting where the issue was discussed.

Board chair Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia responded to questions from several residents about the sanctuary status of the county. “There is no such thing as a sanctuary county. We are not one.” She dismissed the CIS and their categorization of Bucks County and declared that the Southern Poverty Law Center deemed them to be a hate group.

The Delaware County District Attorney’s office said “our office does not have any official policy with regards to cooperation with ICE.”

While Chester County provided the most thorough response, they blamed a 2014 court decision for failure to comply with the 48 hour holding period.

“Chester County does not possess records responsive to your request because Chester County is not a sanctuary county. Chester County Prison’s policy regarding individuals who are committed on an ICE detainer only (no other pending charges or holds) conforms to the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court precedent, and more specifically the Third Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision in Galarza v. Lehigh County, et.al. (2014). The County does nothing to impede or prevent Federal law enforcement authorities from performing their job duties, and Chester County maintains a cooperative interaction with ICE officials in these matters.”

Vaughan said that it is not unusual for jurisdictions to rely on the Galarza decision in 2014 to justify their policies and/or practices to release prisoners before ICE has time to pick them up. Yet, she thinks that their position on this is incorrect, and her assertion is corroborated by the fact that the majority of Pennsylvania counties and cities are cooperating with ICE and holding prisoners up to 48 hours after their approved release.

In fact, over the last year, several counties have contacted CIS to request assistance in rewriting their policies in order to be removed from the sanctuary list. Most recently, Franklin County worked with Vaughan to revise their policy, and they have since been removed from the list.

Given the exorbitant number of immigrants crossing the border illegally, this is an important issue, not just near the border, but even in Pennsylvania. The Washington Post recently reported that close to six million immigrants have crossed the border illegally since Biden took office, and this is a priority issue for many voters in the upcoming presidential election.

Despite the collar counties’ declarations that they are fully cooperating with ICE, that does not seem to be the case. Failure to comply with ICE’s guidelines to hold prisoners for up to 48 hours does not create a cooperative working relationship.

Ultimately, the local counties can make whatever claims they want regarding their status as a sanctuary jurisdiction, but the reality is that they are not fully complying with ICE, and they may be releasing potentially dangerous criminals back into the community.

Beth Ann Rosica resides in West Chester, has a Ph.D. in Education, and has dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of at-risk children and families. She covers education issues for Broad + Liberty. Contact her at barosica@s46680.p831.sites.pressdns.com.