January 29, 2026
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
Protesters hold signs reading 'ICE Out Philadelphia' during a rally Tuesday. A legislative package, introduced Thursday in City Council, would place new restrictions on federal immigration agents operating in the city.
Councilmember Kendra Brooks said Thursday that her legislative proposal to place new restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is not about drawing the agency's attention to Philadelphia, but addressing an existing issue involving agents and raids in the city.
"I want to be clear that ICE is already here," Brooks said during Thursday's City Council meeting. "We don't want a Minneapolis situation, but I reject the claim of those who are pretending that we don't already have a problem."
The "ICE Out" legislative package, co-sponsored by Councilmember Rue Landau, would prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks, using unmarked vehicles and conducting raids on city-owned property. It also would ban city agencies from sharing data about residents or collaborating with ICE, and make discriminating based on immigration or citizenship status illegal in Philadelphia.
Landau, a Democrat, and Brooks, a member of the Working Families Party, revealed the seven-bill package at a rally earlier this week. The legislation was introduced Thursday and must be assigned to a committee and undergo a hearing before it can head back to the council floor for a vote. Council President Kenyatta Johnson (D-2nd) has not decided if the whole package will be assigned to the same committee or if each bill will be assigned separately.
As of Thursday, Landau said she believes the bill package has 15 co-sponsors. That would constitute a supermajority and not require Mayor Cherelle Parker's signature to become law.
"This is incredibly popular right now in council just for people wanting to support this, as well as really hearing from the people," said Landau, an at-large council member. "Everybody wants to make sure that Philadelphia is protecting Philadelphia, and that's exactly what we're seeing here. So, there was no time to sit back. It was really time to act."
The legislation comes on the heels of ICE officers fatally shooting Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. Pretti was the third person shot by ICE agents in the city within three weeks, and the second to die. Renee Nicole Good also was fatally shot by an ICE agent earlier this month. Both of the fatal shootings were caught on video and have escalated protests in Minneapolis.
Landau said enforcement for each bill would be different and require collaboration with the Philadelphia Police Department and Commission on Human Relations, among other city departments. But some of those details are "still being fully ironed out" and may be addressed in committee, she said.
Councilmember Mike Driscoll (D-6th) and other council members have questioned the legality of the package, wondering whether City Council has the authority to enact some of the restrictions on federal agents. But Brooks wasn't concerned, and said the legislation was about strengthening existing laws in the city.
"We are here to protect Philadelphians, and if that means we eventually need to go to court, that's what will need to happen," Brooks said. "But we have several attorneys working on this package, national and city attorneys, and I think that we will be fine."
Johnson agreed, saying ICE operations are a "moral issue" that needs to be addressed.
"If there are legality issues that have to be addressed as a body, we'll work with our members to address it," Johnson said. "No different than we see our governor, Josh Shapiro. He has no problem challenging when there's a legal issue. I think we should take the same posture here, as well."
During Thursday's meeting, City Council also approved a resolution honoring Pretti, Good and four others who either were killed by ICE agents or died in their custody.
Earlier this week, District Attorney Larry Krasner joined a coalition of prosecutors vowing to prosecute federal officers who break state laws.
