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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL), in partnership with Wally Zimolong of Zimolong LLC, secured a major victory for the rule of law and public safety after a Pennsylvania court dismissed a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Community Justice Project on behalf of various plaintiffs, including the NAACP Bucks County Branch and Make the Road States, Inc.; seeking to block AFL’s client, Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran, from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Section 287(g) program.
In June, AFL began representing Sheriff Harran after the ACLU and its allies filed a lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs for entering into a Section 287(g) agreement with ICE. A 287(g) agreement allows state and local law enforcement officials to assist federal immigration enforcement officers in a variety of ways, up to and including receiving training so that state and local enforcement officers can be a “force multiplier for law enforcement agencies to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties.”
Today, the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, dismissed the case in its entirety, finding that Sheriff Harran’s “cooperation is clearly lawful under Pennsylvania jurisprudence and is reasonable and necessary in fulfilling his lawful duty to keep the workers and daily visitors to the Bucks County Justice Center and citizens of Bucks County safe.”
The decision also affirmed that the Office of the Sheriff is an independent, constitutional law enforcement office in Pennsylvania and is not subordinate to county commissioners or political actors. The judge ruled that the Sheriff’s 287(g) Agreement with ICE was lawful, that it did not require county commissioner approval, and that it simply facilitates cooperation between local and federal law enforcement—just like other multi-agency task forces across the Commonwealth.
Importantly, while the court found the Pennsylvania Sheriffs Association and two individual sheriffs did have standing and therefore were permitted to intervene in the case, the Court also found that the plaintiffs had failed to show any actual harm and therefore lacked standing to bring the lawsuit. Instead, the Court ruled the plaintiffs had “clearly only speculative future injuries based on speculative future events.”
“This is a decisive victory for the rule of law and for every law enforcement officer who refuses to bow to political pressure,” said Gene Hamilton, President of America First Legal. “Radical activists tried to weaponize the courts to stop a sheriff from enforcing the law. The court saw through it. We are pleased with this result and immensely proud of Sheriff Harran for fighting for the safety and security of his community.”
“This case has sweeping implications: the ACLU, its affiliate, and their plaintiffs attempted to strip an elected sheriff of his authority to assist federal immigration officials,” said James Rogers, Senior Counsel for America First Legal. “The court’s ruling reaffirms that local law enforcement can lawfully work with ICE to remove criminals and keep communities safe. This reckless lawsuit was nothing more than a cynical attempt to handcuff law enforcement and leave communities vulnerable to those who have already broken our laws. The ACLU’s legal theater endangered public safety and wasted taxpayer resources—all to advance a radical open-borders agenda that puts ideology above the security of American families. It's time these activist groups understand: elected sheriffs answer to the citizens who voted for them, not to coastal elites who treat our immigration laws like suggestions.”
Read the court’s decision here.
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