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.
The presence of ICE in Philadelphia 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/
