Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija speaks during a meeting. Also pictured, from left, are Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairwoman Jamila Winder, Commissioner Tom DiBello and Chief Operating Officer Lee Soltysiak. (Rachel Ravina – MediaNews Group)
An uptick in immigration enforcement activity throughout Montgomery County has top elected officials clashing, as displayed at a recent government meeting.
Montgomery County Commissioners debated during a July 16 board meeting as area residents engaged in a lengthy public comment session with the majority focusing on immigration-related issues.
Advocates and community members have attended meeting after meeting, expressing outrage at the increased presence of U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement operatives in and around the county seat of Norristown in recent weeks and pressing elected officials to enact more stringent legislation to protect undocumented immigrants.
While a majority of public commenters at the July 16 session advocated for immigrant rights, Franconia Township resident Kaitlin Derstine shared a different perspective on the topic.
“What we’ve witnessed under the Biden administration was a complete opening of the border, and that chaos that allowed many traffickers, terrorists and criminals to capitalize on the chaos,” Derstine said.
Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairwoman Jamila Winder took a moment to respond to Derstine’s comments after she’d finished.
“The biggest thing that I see that’s changed is that immigrants are getting browner, and to have an over-generalization in terms of the people that are getting picked up in Norristown is just irresponsible,” Winder said. “Because I promise you, some of the people that are getting picked up were just going to work and don’t have criminal records, and that’s what people are coming to this boardroom concerned about.”
Winder and Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairman Neil Makhija, both Democrats, have vowed not to deputize local law enforcement to carry out federal immigration enforcement actions and the county has issued a policy on employee communication practices.
Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello, the board’s lone Republican commissioner, previously stated he “[doesn’t] support the harboring of illegals,” but is “supportive of immigrants who come through the legal channels” when describing his position.
“It’s a very complex situation that’s happening in the United States. Just as many people are frustrated with what’s going on … with what happened with the borders being wide open, and the concerns associated to that,” DiBello said at the meeting. “But we seem to be bringing a lot of politics into these commissioner meetings, and we’re talking about a lot of things that are outside of our ability.”
“We’re bringing empathy into these commissioner meetings,” Winder interjected. “Empathy for neighbors that are living here that are being terrorized. I’m sorry, but this is not about politics, it’s about people.”
“It’s politics. Because everyone has a position on what they feel should or should not be happening. As county commissioners, we have authority. Our authority only goes so far,” DiBello replied.
While advocates for local immigrant communities have repeatedly asked commissioners to adopt a Welcoming County Act policy. Solicitor Benjamin Field previously noted that Montgomery County’s “2A County” status does not permit elected officials to “make rules for all the municipalities within our county.”
Activists have held a series of local demonstrations and raised the alarm on ICE presence in and around the county seat of Norristown. Unides Para Servir Norristown has taken to social media to alert area residents of activity. Along with Norristown, representatives identified Ambler, Conshohocken, Hatfield, King of Prussia, Maple Glen, and Pottstown as areas seeing increased ICE presence.
“The ICE agents are doing a job, but they should be held accountable for doing that job in a way that is professional, and we’re seeing a lot of evidence that that is not the case,” Winder said.
“We see people attacking law enforcement throughout the United States. It’s not acceptable,” DiBello replied. “So if we want to talk about empathy, I do have empathy, but I also have empathy for the authorities that are just doing their job.”
“They should show their face,” Winder said, stressing that “no other law enforcement in this country doesn’t show their face.”
ICE has declined to answer how many undocumented individuals have been detained since the federal agency’s stepped-up activity. Most recently, 14 individuals were detained in an immigration enforcement operation at a West Norriton Township supermarket. Witnesses observed dozens of agents donning masks, military gear and brandishing weapons.
“We’ve never seen this level of vilification of immigrants and people that are living in fear,” Makhija said, as DiBello repeatedly interjected “are illegals.”
“Nobody is saying that there’s not immigration reform that needs to happen,” Winder said. “So that’s not what anybody’s saying here. What we’re saying here is that people are being terrorized by masked ICE agents in Montgomery County. That’s what we’re saying, and if you can’t be empathetic to that, that’s disconcerting. Regardless of whether you’re a Republican or Democrat … people are scared. And there are people that have been coming to this board meeting for months. People of all walks of life, and that’s all I’m saying. … We’re talking about people.
“I’m looking at these pictures on Facebook right where I’m raising my son. People with guns. I mean we should be concerned about that as a board,” she continued. “So if there’s anything you can do as a Republican to have the federal government hold these ICE agents to account in terms of the type of decorum that they need to do, then please. Because what’s happening in this community is not right.”
