PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Protestors and immigration advocates met with Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal on Monday, but despite that meeting, they were outside her office again on Tuesday, calling for her to do more to protect immigrants in and around the city’s Criminal Justice Center.
Since September, the group No ICE Philly has been calling for Sheriff Rochelle Bilal to stop ICE from detaining immigrants at the courthouse. One of their demands was an in-person meeting. Aniqa Raihan is an organizer with No ICE Philly, which put together a petition to the sheriff.
“As soon as we announced this rally, actually today, to deliver the petition, I got a call from the sheriff's comms people, and they requested a meeting.”
She said they delivered their list of suggestions and awaited the sheriff’s review of those requests.
Erika Guadalupe Nunez, the executive director of the immigrant rights non-profit, Juntos, laid out the changes advocates want to see.
“ICE agents are using cross-designation, claiming to be DEA, ATF, or another agency to gain access to the building. That loophole must be closed. Second, no masks, no hiding,” Nunez said.
Among the other demands, Nunez said advocates want the sheriff to protect immigrants coming and going from the courthouse. Juntos said their volunteer observers have seen 130 people taken by ICE at or around the courthouse. Nunez said the public defender’s office, citing their clients specifically, put that number at 50.
“Safety includes the outside courthouse grounds, which must include sidewalks and entryways, not just the building itself. Safety shouldn't stop and end at the door of our courthouse,” Nunez said.
She says the public defender's office is equipped to help with criminal charges and immigration issues, suggesting immigrants who have a private attorney need extra help.
“Anyone who's an immigrant who has a criminal charge should be speaking with both a criminal lawyer and an immigration lawyer,” Nunez explained.
The sheriff’s office confirmed the meeting and said it listened to the advocates’ concerns. In a statement, the office said its authority does not extend to public streets or parking lots, saying the sheriff “does not have jurisdiction over enforcement actions that occur outside of our facilities or lawful authority.”