ICE operations in Philadelphia have immigration advocates on high alert

Brutally cold weather hasn’t deterred demonstrators’ efforts against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the City of Philadelphia. 

On Monday, hundreds of protesters gathered in Center City as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Action, decrying an ICE officer’s killing of protester Renee Good in Minnesota, as well as numerous deaths of people in ICE custody since 2025.

The Interfaith Coalition of Clergy-led demonstration chanted and sang outside the Philadelphia Immigration Court at 9th and Market streets on Monday, with protesters seeking to honor King’s history of nonviolence and confrontation through a vigil and rally. 

State Sen. Art Haywood joined the diverse group of clergy in speaking out against ICE raids on Monday, saying there’s a “civic responsibility” to protect human dignity.

“Every person, regardless of where they come from, carries inherent dignity that must be protected,” Haywood said Monday. “Indiscriminate ICE raids terrorize families, erode trust and violate the basic responsibility we have to one another as neighbors. Today, we are here to stop cruel ICE raids, detentions and deportations, and to affirm that dignity – not fear – must guide our laws and our actions.”

And Tuesday morning, organizers with No ICE Philly briefly blocked an ICE vehicle from departing the agency’s headquarters. 

Raids raise questions

ICE raids throughout the nation have put immigrant populations and their advocates on high alert. Lenore Ramos Juarez, the defense organizer for the Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization Juntos, claims that more than 90 individuals have been detained by ICE at the Center City courthouse in 2025 alone. 

Juarez, who noted that Juntos has been tracking first-person accounts of ICE operations in the city, added that the 90-plus figure is a conservative – though unsubstantiated – estimate, given the number of stops that take place beyond the eyes of advocates at the courthouse.

While the extent of ICE operations, by design, is difficult to measure, local immigration groups and anti-ICE protesters have sought to shine a spotlight on the agency’s actions after months of public pushback. 

Four people were arrested during anti-ICE protests in Philadelphia back in October, and  advocacy groups have repeatedly called on the city and local officials to pledge to not work with or support the agency, urging the city to not honor contracts with ICE or allow their agencies to collaborate with them. 

The Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office was the focus of recent protests by protesters who claim Sheriff Rochele Bilal’s team is working with ICE and allowing individuals to be apprehended by federal agents on public property. 

Bilal and her staff have denied the accusations, even gaining national attention recently after the sheriff said she would “bring the smoke” against ICE and “fake law enforcement” should they break the law in the city. 

Bilal, District Attorney Larry Krasner and local officials spoke out against ICE raids in the city and said anyone who violates the law will be arrested. 

“As Sheriff Bilal has been clear on several occasions, our office does not partner with ICE, does not assist ICE operations and does not share information with ICE,” Sean Thornton, chief deputy of court operations, said in December. “Our focus remains squarely on upholding the rule of law, preserving equitable access to justice and ensuring the safety and dignity of every person who walks through our courthouse door.”

The Philadelphia Parking Authority has also been scrutinized, thanks to pamphlets placed around Center City that suggested the PPA was allowing ICE to use its parking garages. 

According to federal spending information, the Department of Homeland Security’s contract with the PPA “provides the rental of indoor parking garage spaces required for government vehicles for ICE Homeland Security investigations in Philadelphia.” 

A spokesperson for the PPA, which was set to receive more than $53,000 from DHS under an agreement signed in September, said the parking garage is not owned by the parking authority. 

In a statement, the PPA said the contract with DHS “refers to a garage owned by the federal government that the PPA is under lease to manage. The PPA does not own that garage facility.”

Democratic lawmakers in the region have also sought to unmask the operatives working on behalf of ICE. In August, legislators introduced a “No Secret Police” bill to keep law enforcement from concealing their identities, including ICE agents conducting raids in the commonwealth.

Even as raids – and protests against them – continue, so do the calls for greater transparency and accountability for federal agents. 

“To have heavily armed, masked, unidentifiable individuals roaming our public spaces, our work sites and our residential blocks, kidnapping people off the streets, disappearing our neighbors, terrorizes our communities and violates these basic, vital rights,” State Sen. Nikil Saval, a Philadelphia Democrat, said at the August press conference. 

Last week, fellow Democratic state Sen. Amanda Cappelletti said she’s introducing another piece of legislation looking to limit ICE’s operations near commonwealth facilities. 

Cappelletti’s proposal would prohibit civil immigration arrests within 1,000 feet of state-owned or -leased facilities absent a judicial order or warrant, noting that several states, including New York, Illinois, Connecticut and Washington, have similar policies in place. 

In a co-sponsorship memo circulated on Jan. 12, Cappelletti wrote that warrantless arrests by ICE are “discouraging residents from seeking essential services, frightening our communities and undermining public trust in our government.”