Philadelphia's ICE Out law challenged by U.S. Justice Department

On Thursday, the Justice Department sued the city of Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle Parker, District Attorney Larry Krasner, and City Solicitor Renee Garcia over Bill 260060, saying the measure is an unconstitutional attempt to regulate federal law enforcement operations. The complaint challenges provisions that would prohibit officers from wearing face coverings in certain circumstances, require visible identifiers, and restrict the use of unmarked vehicles in the city.

“Today we regrettably had to sue the birthplace of this great nation,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a release. “But we will not sit by while Philadelphia flagrantly violates our Constitution, seeking to criminally punish our nation’s law enforcement heroes merely for doing their job.”

Introduced in January by Minority Leader Kendra Brooks and Democratic Councilmember At-Large Rue Landau as a part of a legislative package titled ICE Out, the bill was enacted after City Council passed it 14-2 on April 23. Parker did not sign the measure, but it became law because she did not veto it.

It is scheduled to take effect in early July.

The Justice Department’s argument is rooted in the Supremacy Clause, which the complaint states has been repeatedly recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court for centuries. Despite that well-established precedent, the complaint states, “Philadelphia – the very city where the principles of federal sovereignty and supremacy were first established – recently enacted a bill that purports to do exactly what constitutional law says it cannot: subject federal officers and agencies to criminal and civil liability, respectively, through laws that seek to regulate how those officers carry out their federal duties.”

According to city documents, Parker said in a communication to City Council that she signed six related bills but did not sign Bill 260060 following the advice of City Solicitor Renee Garcia. Parker was warned that the bill posed “significant legal problems,” particularly over the city’s authority to regulate federal officers carrying out their duties under federal law.

Garcia also cited a recent 9th Circuit ruling that blocked a similar California identification law as likely unconstitutional. She further advised that signing the bill could wrongly signal that the administration supported and could legally enforce it.

“It is disappointing to see the city where our Constitution was born so egregiously violate its separation of powers by criminalizing the work that federal officers do to keep Philadelphians safe,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Philadelphia may not regulate federal operations and its unconstitutional attempt to do so must be stopped.”

The release said the lawsuit is the latest in a series of Civil Division challenges to policies it says are designed to thwart federal law enforcement across the country, including cases involving Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey and California.

In an email statement to The Center Square, Brooks said, “Philadelphia doesn’t like bullies. And we certainly don’t like masked PPD officers or ICE agents terrorizing our neighbors.

“The people of this city expected our leaders to fight back against Trump’s invasion. That’s what we did when we passed ICE Out."