Since President Donald Trump took office for a second term, he has made good on promises to significantly upscale Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence across the country, especially in urban centers. According to the Prison Policy Initiative analyzing ICE data, ICE is making over 1,000 arrests per day, and the Trump administration has pressured up to 3,000 arrests across the country per day. The national media is covering the major immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago and more recently, Minneapolis, but what has ICE presence been like locally in Philadelphia?
The defense organizer for the Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization Juntos, Lenore Ramos Juarez, claims that more than 90 individuals have been detained by ICE at the Center City courthouse in 2025 alone. ICE data provided by UC Berkeley reports that in the state of Pennsylvania broadly, noncriminal arrests of immigrants nearly doubled from when Trump took office, rising from 27% to 51% by early June 2025.
While it remains difficult to get an accurate read on the exact numbers of ICE presence in Philly, some operations there have already had fatal consequences. On January 9, Parady La died in ICE custody while in the Federal Detention Center in Center City. According to a statement from ICE, La was going through severe withdrawal from drugs and was found unresponsive in his cell. ICE administered NARCAN, which is used for opioid overdose, not for withdrawal. La’s family said the account did not add up, and are now pursuing legal action against FDC Philadelphia.
Trump has not yet sent federal troops to Philadelphia as he has done in other cities, but local authorities have already begun to set the stage for a showdown. During a press conference following the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, Sheriff Rochelle Bilal threatened ICE with hefty legal punishment if they commit crimes while carrying out operations. “You don’t want this smoke because we will bring it to you,” Bilal threatened.
However, it should be noted that Bilal’s office is a separate entity from Philadelphia’s police department. Meanwhile, ICE’s X account reacted to her comments by calling for her to resign before she “embarrasses herself any further” and daring Bilal to try arresting ICE agents.
Larry Krasner, the Philadelphia district attorney, also had a warning for ICE. “To ICE and the National Guard: if you commit crimes in Philadelphia, we will charge you and hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Krasner wrote on January 10th. These comments have led to attention from ICE and the federal government, and rumors abound on a possible ICE presence surge in the city of brotherly love.
However, Mayor Cherelle Parker has not changed the way the city collaborates with ICE. This represents a divide in the way Philly’s authorities approach the matter. Parker has changed the status of Philadelphia from a sanctuary city to a “welcoming city” and removed some diversity quotas for city grants, in part to appease the Trump administration. But according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the city is still under a directive that prevents authorities from complying with ICE-issued detainer requests unless there is a signed judicial warrant.
From ordinary citizens, resistance is already underway – WHYY reports on January 20, No ICE Philly demonstrators temporarily blocked a garage at the ICE agency field office. Additionally, there have been several ICE Out for Good protests conducted in Center City and outside Governor Josh Shapiro’s book sale event in the city to pressure further action from state and local officials. No ICE Philly, another activist group, has held a series of direct action sit-ins at Target, which they say is enabling ICE’s activities. According to a Philadelphia Inquirer Facebook post, they are demanding Target take a public stand against ICE enforcement activities and stop allowing them to operate within their stores. Target has drawn criticism for an incident in Minneapolis in January wherein ICE arrested and dragged out two employees who were later discovered to be citizens.
UPDATE AS OF 2/14:
Partially as a result of this local resistance, the Philadelphia city council introduced a legislative package of seven bills entitled “ICE OUT.” According to the Philadelphia City Council website, the package includes prohibitions against ICE agents using masks to cover identity and using city-owned properties to stage raids. It also prohibits city agencies from collaborating with ICE, collecting immigration status information to give to ICE, discriminating on the basis of immigration status and bans city employees from letting agents into city-owned spaces. This package is not yet passed, and according to Temple News may take anywhere between four to eight weeks just to get a committee hearing. Still, 15 out of 17 city council members are in favor of the package, a veto-proof majority.
CBS reports that on February 2, ICE finalized the sale for a warehouse in Berks County, Pa. to convert to a detention center. A spokesperson for the agency said the $87 million purchase came as a result of the Big Beautiful Bill increasing the agency’s budget to “keep criminals off the street.” Officials from Upper Bern Township said the township authorities were not notified prior to purchase, as it was a private sale. As a result of it being a private sale, Spotlight PA reported the county commissioners had no ability to block the transaction. However, commissioner Christian Leinbach expressed concern about the federal government stepping in without notifying local authorities.
According to 6Abc, on February 9 in Norristown, ICE agents arrived to arrest undocumented immigrant Jose Lopez. The family says that Lopez was driving to work when he was boxed in by ICE agents. Fearing arrest, he returned to his home where he barricaded himself inside. ICE agents threatened to break down the door and arrest him, all while protesters arrived on the scene to object to the arrest. Hours later after obtaining an arrest warrant, the agents stormed the house and detained Lopez.
State Representative Joe Webster (D) and State Senator Katie Muth (D) both condemned the arrest and the aggressive tactics used to detain Lopez. “I don’t know about you, but if you think it is acceptable for someone in a mask to come up to your vehicle, smash your window in, and detain you or kick in your door like it happened yesterday, that is not how law enforcement behaves,” said Muth.
The presence of ICE in Philadelphia and the greater region continues to unfold, and the Waltonian will continue to report on this story as it develops.
SOURCES
https://whyy.org/articles/parady-la-upper-day-ice-custody-death/
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/12/11/ice-jails-update/
