February 4, 2026
Philadelphia City Council Wants To Restrict Federal Agents With New ‘ICE OUT’ Legislation
The Philadelphia City Council has introduced ‘ICE OUT’ legislation to limit how the federal immigration agency operates in the city.
The Philadelphia City Council is looking to restrict how city agencies interact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through its newly introduced “ICE OUT” legislation.
On Jan. 27, Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Rue Landau introduced the “ICE OUT” legislative package, a set of seven bills backed by more than 40 local organizations that would restrict how federal immigration agents operate in Philadelphia, CBS News reports. The bills include measures to ban ICE and other agents from concealing their identities with face masks or using unmarked vehicles, among others.
“It’s our responsibility as local electeds to make sure we’re protecting our people here in Philadelphia, so that’s the purpose of this legislation,” Brooks said.
The proposed legislation would bar city agencies from collaborating with ICE, collecting immigration status information, or sharing data with the federal agency—a move Council leaders describe as a focused effort to regulate ICE operations in the city. Mayor Cherelle Parker has said she looks forward to reviewing the bills.
“We are aware of the potential challenges that we face, and we understand the public’s fear of the unknown, as it relates to federal policy associated with immigration,” Parker said in a statement shared on Instagram.
Councilmembers say the legislation will bolster Philadelphia’s existing Welcoming City policies. While similar proposals have been introduced in other cities, Brooks and Landau call this the most comprehensive set of ICE‑related legislation in the country.
“Philly needs to take care of Philly, and that is what we’re doing right now,” one speaker said during the council session.
“There shouldn’t be a single dime of Philadelphia tax dollars and not a single second of Philadelphia workers collaborating with an agency that is stomping all over the Constitution,” Jasmine Rivera, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, said.
The bills, developed with input from immigration and community groups, come as city leaders respond to widely reported ICE‑related violence, including multiple deaths connected to federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota that have sparked protests nationwide, and recent concerns about the death of a man while in ICE custody in Philadelphia.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has criticized Philadelphia’s legislation, warning it could make the city less safe.
“When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with us, that is when we have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities,” the statement said in part.
The legislation comes as federal officials signal a shift in enforcement strategy, with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan saying ICE will emphasize targeted operations focused on criminals and may reduce broad street patrols in places like Minnesota. However, city leaders argue the proposed laws would still conflict with that approach, since they would bar city employees from granting ICE access to city‑owned spaces without a judicial warrant.
“While we don’t want ICE in Philadelphia, if they’re going to be here, they need to rise to the level of the basic safety practices we’ve already created in Philadelphia,” Landau said.
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