Philadelphia has prepared an "ambitious plan" to protect its city from ICE and help local law enforcement feel empowered to arrest federal agents, an analyst explained Wednesday.
Salon's Amanda Marcotte, who lives in Philadelphia, described how the city is worried they will be next after ICE's violent attacks in Minneapolis. And while Gregory Bovino was pushed out of his role in the Twin Cities, the administration is has continued to plot its future moves as "the political blowback against the operation is clearly bothering Donald Trump."
"ICE has already been on the ground, grabbing immigrants and scaring people. But locals are also terrified the city will soon be singled out for a full-scale invasion like Minneapolis is experiencing," Marcotte wrote. "Trump has always spoken of Philadelphia with deep contempt, and folks haven’t forgotten his repeated efforts to stop the vote counting here in 2020 as part of his concerted effort to steal the presidential election from Joe Biden."
In anticipation, the city has developed a plan: its "ICE Out" legislation. The plan has included banning federal agents from using face masks and requiring badges, prohibiting Philadelphia police officers and city services from cooperating with ICE or offering any data on residents, banning ICE agents without judicial warrants from all city property (schools, courts and hospitals), and all private businesses would be prevented from refusing service to people based on their immigration status.
"During a rally announcing the bill, District Attorney Larry Krasner denounced the 'small bunch of wannabe Nazis' Trump is unleashing on cities and promised to prosecute ICE officers who break state and local laws," Marcotte wrote. "'If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities,' he said. 'We will find you. We will achieve justice.'"
Philadelphia's response will also come down to Mayor Cherelle Parker and whether she "has the guts" to stand up to the Trump administration, the writer explained.
"Since Trump and his administration famously have a tendency to back off when the going gets tough, it would follow that a good way to keep them out of Philadelphia is to raise the costs that would come with an invasion," Marcotte wrote.

