Minersville has become the latest Schuylkill County municipality to join the ICE 287(g) program.
Council members voted 4-1 on Tuesday night to join the program that gives the Borough’s police force limited immigration law enforcement powers. On Monday, Pottsville also joined the program. They join Frackville, Kline Township, Mahanoy City, Mahanoy Township, Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County Sheriff’s Office, Schuylkill Haven, and Shenandoah which had previously joined the 287(g) Task Force Model.
Only council president Jamie Kuehn voted against the measure on Tuesday. Voting for it were Jeff Enders, Amelia Hopkins, W. Alex Kurtek, and Bernard Lescavage. Councilmen Justin Frantz and Terry Raffety were absent.
Tuesday’s vote followed a prolonged discussion on joining the program at last week’s workshop meeting. In comments after Tuesday’s meeting, Kuehn told Coal Region Canary that in the 20 years he’s served on Borough Council, his party affiliation – he’s a registered Democrat – had never impacted any of the decisions he’s made on local issues. That is, until the vote on the ICE program.
“I’ve never had to make a decision in this room that has been aligned with national interests. I feel like this is national issues trickling down into local government,” Kuehn said. “And I’m not comfortable with that. My personal opposition to this is simply that this is something we don’t need to involve ourselves.”
The council president stressed that his vote against joining 287(g) should not be seen as his not supporting the Minersville Police Dept.
“I think our local police do a wonderful job. I think we’ve addressed things in our community that haven’t been addressed in other communities,” he said.
Kuehn also expressed concerns about straining the Borough’s police force resources, namely manpower. If local officers do make an immigration arrest, they normally have to transport them to a detention center in York.
Enders said he voted for joining the program to give Minersville Police an “extra tool”.
“Law enforcement from a borogh, city, or state are the protectors of every legal citizen in the United States. To give our department in Minersville an extra tool to se in enforcement is very important to or community and our police,” Enders said.
In exchange for joining the 287(g) Task Force Model, ICE promises to make reimbursement payments to participating police departments. That includes payment for training and up to $100,000 for new equipment, including a new vehicle.
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