Community for Change Montgomery County lead organizer Stephanie Vincent was featured by The Philadelphia Inquirer today for her role in disrupting ICE activity in the region.
Vincent told The Inquirer that her all-volunteer rapid-response team aims to ensure that ICE doesn’t operate invisibly. Activists say similar teams “try to record on their phones as arrests unfold, and take notes according to a protocol known as SALUTE: The Size of the ICE force, its Activity, specific Location, Unit markings and license plates, the Time, and the Equipment being used.”
An ICE spokesperson said the teams “will not deter ICE from completing its mission. Any interference with federal law enforcement officers in the commission of their official duties is a federal crime.”
At least 62 immigrants have been arrested in Montgomery County since the end of May, according to advocates. Nationally, arrests have doubled from an average of 26 a day from January through May 21 to an average of 51 a day between May 22 and June 26, according to The Inquirer’s analysis of recent government data.
County-level hotlines which enable people to report ICE sightings have been set up by activists in Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties, Centre County, Lehigh and Northampton Counties, and in the combined area of York, Lancaster, Adams, Dauphin, and Franklin Counties, The Inquirer said.
You can watch Vincent’s comments on ICE during a July Montgomery County Commissioners meeting below:
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A brief timeline of Glenside Local’s coverage regarding ICE news in Montgomery County since May:
- May: Online Immigrant Resource Center launched by county commissioners; Montgomery County included in Department of Homeland Security’s list of sanctuary jurisdictions
- June: County officials prohibited employees from providing information to ICE unless they are legally required to do so; Montgomery County jail officials shifted their previous policy of automatically holding those wanted by ICE for an additional four hours after they posted bail
- August: ICE criticized Montgomery County sanctuary policies following the release of man charged with several child sex crimes; Commissioners responded to the criticism
Also in July, Community for Change Montgomery County sponsored a “Good Trouble Lives On” protest in Abington Township.
From their website:
Montgomery County is home to nearly 100,000 immigrants — our neighbors, coworkers, classmates, friends, and family. These community members are an essential part of our county’s fabric. And yet, they are increasingly under threat from federal law enforcement agencies that are violating constitutional protections, bypassing due process, and targeting people based on their perceived immigration status.
We are calling on all 62 municipalities in Montgomery County to act together — to move with collective strength and shared purpose. There is power in numbers. And there is protection in unity.
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