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  • A Montco Army veteran was indicted alongside journalist Don Lemon for anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church

    A Montco Army veteran was indicted alongside journalist Don Lemon for anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church

    A decorated U.S. Army veteran from Montgomery County was arrested Friday for participating in a protest at a St. Paul, Minn., church, just two days after a video of him speaking out against the Trump administration went viral.

    Ian Austin, 35, of Bryn Athyn, is one of nine people facing felony charges for their involvement in a Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul. Former CNN host Don Lemon, who was covering the protest, is also a defendant. Lemon’s arrest, and that of another journalist who attended the protest, has brought criticism from media and civil rights advocates.

    The Department of Justice indicted Austin for conspiring to interrupt a church service and “injure, intimidate, and interfere with exercise of right of religious freedom” at a place of worship, federal court documents state.

    But Austin’s parents in Bryn Athyn say their son’s actions are in keeping with his sense of duty to his country, and his determination to help others however he can.

    “Those are things he cares about more than political party,” his mother, Paige Austin, said. “It’s more about what does it mean to be human, and to treat people justly and kindly, regardless of where you live.”

    Journalist Don Lemon is charged with federal civil rights crimes in anti-ICE church protest

    In a video clip dated Jan. 20 and posted online days before his arrest, Austin said that he believed as an Army veteran it was his duty to travel to Minnesota.

    “We took an oath to the Constitution, and it’s just being shredded right now,” Austin said in the video, which racked up hundreds of thousands of likes across multiple social media platforms.

    “This has all of the signs from every fascist movement in history that we’re going to lose the opportunity to resist,” he said. “So that’s why I’m here.”

    The protesters said they targeted the church because one of its pastors, David Easterwood, leads the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) St. Paul field office. The church’s website lists David Easterwood as a pastor, and news outlets have reported that his personal information appears to match that of the David Easterwood identified in court filings as the acting director of the ICE St. Paul field office.

    In the video, Austin said he’d previously been detained for protesting outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building before being released without charges. It was during that detainment, he said, that a Department of Homeland Security officer questioned him about why someone “from Philadelphia” would be in Minneapolis.

    “And I’m like, ‘Well, because the nation that I was willing to die for is being systematically oppressed with men in military uniforms, a private army told by the president that they have no other laws to follow than his, and they’re systematically attacking and even killing our neighbors — in the United States of America,” Austin said.

    This undated photo shows Ian Austin and other U.S. Army soldiers.

    Valorous service

    Austin grew up in Huntingdon Valley, a couple miles outside of Philly in Montgomery County. His parents, Kenneth and Paige Austin, said he went to Academy of the New Church high school, where he excelled at baseball and wrestling, earning a spot in the J. Robinson Intensive Wrestling Camp in Minnesota.

    “It’s brutally hard,” Kenneth Austin said in an interview with The Inquirer. “It’s like boot camp. He did very well. I think that planted a seed for the military.”

    Austin graduated from high school in 2008, celebrated the Phillies’ World Series win with family and friends, and weeks later, shipped out to Army basic training.

    His parents confirmed that as a member of the U.S. Army’s elite 1st Ranger Battalion, Austin served six combat deployments in Afghanistan. In 2013, he was awarded a Joint Commendation Medal with Valor device, according to a news report.

    The valor device is given to soldiers who displayed “an act or acts of heroism by an individual above what is normally expected while engaged in direct combat with an enemy of the United States, or an opposing foreign or armed force, with exposure to enemy hostilities and personal risk,” according to a military website.

    This detail shot of an undated family photo shows Ian Austin while serving in the U.S. Army 1st Ranger Battalion.

    After his Army contract ended in 2014, Austin returned home, his parents said. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he threw himself into his recovery process with the same passion he put into his training, Kenneth Austin said. He had his share of setbacks; in 2021, Austin pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and fighting after refusing to leave a local bar, his parents noted.

    But as Austin took college classes at La Salle University and elsewhere, he became increasingly interested in social justice and helping others.

    During the 2020 George Floyd protests in Philly, Austin packed his backpack with medical supplies and water, Paige Austin said. “He would go down there and sort of join the protest, but he was there also to help, because part of the Ranger training was emergency medical training.”

    Kenneth Austin recounted that his son even carried a backpack full of water, snacks, and first aid supplies during the parade after the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2025 Super Bowl victory, earning him the nickname “headquarters” from some of those out celebrating.

    “It was a little much for me,” his father said. “But it really struck me, like, he’s … here to have fun, but he’s also looking out for everyone, and becoming buddies with everyone, and making sure everyone’s OK.”

    A protest in a church

    A few weeks after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis, Austin told his parents he was going to Minnesota. Three hours later, his truck was packed, and after a 17-hour drive, he was out protesting.

    Austin is being held in the Sherburne County Jail in Minnesota, county records show. His attorney, Sarah Gad, said that she took on his case pro bono after seeing agents arrest him Friday. Gad said that based on what she’s seen in similar cases, she expects him to be released on his own recognizance as early as Monday.

    Video of the protest shows protesters in the church chanting “Renee Good,” “Don’t shoot,” and “ICE out,” while a pastor shouted “shame on you” into a microphone. As the protest continued, many congregants can be seen leaving the church, while others stayed put or filmed the takeover. A few church attendees struck up conversations with protesters.

    “I understand that what has happened is wrong, and I agree with that,” one congregant said to the person filming. “But this can’t happen. This is the house of the Lord.”

    The federal indictment states that between 20 and 40 “agitators” occupied the main aisle and front of the church and yelled at the pastor and congregants. The indictment alleges that some protesters intimidated church members and prevented them from moving about freely in the church.

    Austin, the indictment states, stood with other protesters, “approached the pastor and congregants in a menacing manner, and near the end of the operation, loudly berated the pastor with questions about Christian nationalism and Christians wanting their faith to be the law of the land.”

    News reports have noted that Cities Church has ties to prominent Christian nationalists and powerful figures in the MAGA movement. Slate reported that its founder, Joe Rigney, is now a pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. That church is run by Doug Wilson, who wants America to become a theocracy, according to a New York Times interview. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends an affiliated church.

    Austin’s attorney said this is a unique case, but it doesn’t surprise her that the Department of Justice would want to make an example of anti-ICE protesters who were allegedly disrupting a place of worship.

    “I think that this is being taken very seriously by the United States attorney,” Gad said, though she added, “federal cases often look much more alarming at the front end than they turn out to be.”

  • Journalist Don Lemon is charged with federal civil rights crimes in anti-ICE church protest

    Journalist Don Lemon is charged with federal civil rights crimes in anti-ICE church protest

    LOS ANGELES — Journalist Don Lemon was released from custody Friday after he was arrested and hit with federal civil rights charges over his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.

    Lemon was arrested Thursday while across the country in Los Angeles, while another independent journalist and two protest participants were arrested in Minnesota. He struck a confident, defiant tone while speaking to reporters after a court appearance in California.

    “I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now,” Lemon said. “In fact there is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable.”

    3 people involved in a Minnesota church protest are arrested

    The arrests brought sharp criticism from news media advocates and civil rights activists including the Rev. Al Sharpton, who said the Trump administration is taking a “sledgehammer” to “the knees of the First Amendment.”

    The four were charged with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshipers during the Jan. 18 protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is a pastor.

    In federal court in Los Angeles, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Robbins argued for a $100,000 bond, telling a judge that Lemon “knowingly joined a mob that stormed into a church.” He was released, however, without having to post money and was granted permission to travel to France in June while the case is pending.

    Defense attorney Marilyn Bednarski said Lemon plans to plead not guilty and fight the charges.

    Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023 following a bumpy run as a morning host, has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and he was there as a solo journalist chronicling protesters.

    “Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”

    Attorney General Pam Bondi promoted the arrests on social media.

    “Make no mistake. Under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely,” Bondi said in a video posted online. “And if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”

    ‘Keep trying’

    Since he left CNN, Lemon has joined the legion of journalists who have gone into business for himself, posting regularly on YouTube. He hasn’t hidden his disdain for President Donald Trump. Yet during his online show from the church, he said repeatedly: “I’m not here as an activist. I’m here as a journalist.” He described the scene before him, and interviewed churchgoers and demonstrators.

    A magistrate judge last week rejected prosecutors’ initial bid to charge the veteran journalist. Shortly after, he predicted on his show that the administration would try again.

    “And guess what,” he said. “Here I am. Keep trying. That’s not going to stop me from being a journalist. That’s not going to diminish my voice. Go ahead, make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel, if you want. Just do it. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

    Georgia Fort livestreamed the moments before her arrest, telling viewers that agents were at her door and her First Amendment right as a journalist was being diminished.

    A judge released Fort, Trahern Crews, and Jamael Lundy on bond, rejecting the Justice Department’s attempt to keep them in custody. Not guilty pleas were entered. Fort’s supporters in the courtroom clapped and whooped.

    “It’s a sinister turn of events in this country,” Fort’s attorney, Kevin Riach, said in court.

    Discouraging scrutiny

    Jane Kirtley, a media law and ethics expert at the University of Minnesota, said the federal laws cited by the government were not intended to apply to reporters gathering news.

    The charges against Lemon and Fort, she said, are “pure intimidation and government overreach.”

    Some experts and activists said the charges were not only an attack on press freedoms but also a strike against Black Americans who count on Black journalists to bear witness to injustice and oppression.

    The National Association of Black Journalists said it was “outraged and deeply alarmed” by Lemon’s arrest. The group called it an effort to “criminalize and threaten press freedom under the guise of law enforcement.”

    Crews is a leader of Black Lives Matter Minnesota who has led many protests and actions for racial justice, particularly following George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis in 2020.

    After Trump administration officials said earlier this month that arrests would be coming in the church protest, Crews told the Associated Press there’s a “tradition” of Black activists and leaders being targeted or subjected to violence.

    “Just as being a Black person, you always have to have that in mind,” Crews said.

    Protesters charged previously

    A prominent civil rights attorney and two other people involved in the protest were arrested last week. Prosecutors have accused them of civil rights violations for disrupting the Cities Church service.

    The Justice Department launched an investigation after the group interrupted services by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.

    Lundy, a candidate for state Senate, works for the office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and is married to a St. Paul City Council member. Lemon briefly interviewed him as they gathered with protesters preparing to drive to the church on Jan. 18.

    “I feel like it’s important that if you’re going to be representing people in office that you are out here with the people,” Lundy told Lemon, adding he believed in “direct action, certainly within the lines of the law.”

    Church leaders praise arrests in protest

    Cities Church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention and lists one of its pastors as David Easterwood, who leads ICE’s St. Paul field office.

    “We are grateful that the Department of Justice acted swiftly to protect Cities Church so that we can continue to faithfully live out the church’s mission to worship Jesus and make him known,” lead pastor Jonathan Parnell said.

  • As Josh Shapiro calls for ICE to leave Minneapolis, his GOP challenger Stacy Garrity wants Minnesotans — and Pennsylvanians — to cooperate with agents

    As Josh Shapiro calls for ICE to leave Minneapolis, his GOP challenger Stacy Garrity wants Minnesotans — and Pennsylvanians — to cooperate with agents

    As Gov. Josh Shapiro makes the case on national television for ICE to leave Minneapolis, his Republican challenger Stacy Garrity has a different view: Minnesotans should cooperate.

    Garrity, the state treasurer and GOP-endorsed candidate, said “it’s best to cooperate” with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in an interview Thursday night at the National Constitution Center following an appearance on a conservative podcast.

    The retired U.S. Army colonel also praised Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar assigned to take over the Minneapolis operation, as “spot on” in his recent remarks calling for a de-escalation of the conflict between residents and federal officials, and that residents should comply.

    “He said it best: Cooperate and take down the rhetoric,” Garrity said, noting her time as U.S. Army military police officer gives her a “different perspective.”

    The race between Josh Shapiro and Stacy Garrity for Pa. governor has officially begun. Here’s what you need to know.

    Garrity’s comments came days after she received an endorsement from Trump in the Pennsylvania governor’s race. The president on Tuesday evening called Garrity a “true America First Patriot, who has been with me from the beginning.”

    Shapiro, meanwhile, has become more outspoken about ICE’s operations in Minnesota over the last few days while on a national media blitz for his new memoir released this week, Where We Keep the Light. The former Pennsylvania attorney general, known as a careful and deliberate communicator, has now repeatedly called for ICE and the Border Patrol to leave Minneapolis, arguing that the operations are “outside the bounds of law” and “must be terminated.”

    Pennsylvania does not have a sanctuary policy restricting cooperation with ICE by state law enforcement, but several jurisdictions in the state do have such policies, including Philadelphia.

    Gov. Shapiro tells Stephen Colbert he’s planning for the possibility of federal troops entering Pa.

    Garrity was in Philadelphia on Thursday for a live taping of the conservative podcast Ruthless. The event was hosted by Americans for Prosperity, a national libertarian advocacy organization. She largely talked about what led her to politics in 2020 after a long career in the military and private sector, as well as her work as the state’s treasurer.

    When asked whether she was concerned by the shooting of Alex Pretti, an intensive-care nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Minnesota, Garrity said she had not seen the videos of Border Patrol agents fatally shooting Pretti and that she “always waits for the investigation” before forming an opinion. Pretti’s death marked the second killing of a U.S. citizen by federal agents in Minneapolis this month, leading to mass protests and public outrage.

    “The investigation will come out, and then any corrective action that needs to be taken, or we’ll see what the results are,” she said. “I’m going to withhold any judgment until the investigation.”

    ICE tactics in Minneapolis set off political firestorm from Philadelphia City Hall to Washington

    In the case of Pretti’s death, Trump said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is leading the investigation, and he is “going to be watching over it.” Minnesota officials have called for an independent investigation and have protested as federal officials have blocked local authorities from investigating.

    Earlier this week, Shapiro said his staff has been preparing for the chance that Trump sends a surge of ICE agents to a Pennsylvania city like Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

    If Trump does send more ICE agents to Pennsylvania, Garrity said Pennsylvania officials should cooperate here, too.

    “It’s always good to cooperate with ICE, especially when they’re doing targeted actions,” Garrity added.

  • A veto-proof majority of Philadelphia City Council members have signed onto the ‘ICE Out’ proposal

    A veto-proof majority of Philadelphia City Council members have signed onto the ‘ICE Out’ proposal

    All but two of Philadelphia’s 17 City Council members have sponsored a package of legislation aimed at limiting ICE operations in the city, a level of support that could ensure the measures become law even if they are opposed by the mayor.

    The 15 cosponsors, confirmed Thursday by a spokesperson for Councilmember Kendra Brooks, indicate a potentially veto-proof majority of lawmakers back the sweeping “ICE Out” effort.

    Brooks and Councilmember Rue Landau, the proposal’s authors, on Thursday formally introduced the seven bills in the package, which includes measures that would codify Philly’s “sanctuary city” status, ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from operating on city-owned property, and prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of immigration status.

    Landau said that “reaching a majority sends a clear message.”

    “Philadelphia stands with our immigrant communities,” she said in a statement. “At a moment when the federal government is using fear and violence as governing strategies, this level of support shows that Council will do everything we can to protect our immigrant neighbors.”

    Advocates and protesters call for ICE to get out of Philadelphia, in Center City, January 27, 2026.

    The 15 lawmakers on board with Brooks and Landau’s proposal have each cosponsored all seven bills, Brooks’ spokesperson Eric Rosso said. Only Councilmembers Mike Driscoll, a Democrat, and Brian O’Neill, Council’s lone Republican, declined to cosponsor the legislation, he said.

    Driscoll, who represents lower Northeast Philadelphia, said in a statement that the shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis this month “caused real pain and fear” and “deserve serious attention.”

    But he indicated that he had concerns about whether the “ICE Out” legislation would hold up in court. Similar legislation, including a California ban on law enforcement officers wearing masks, has faced legal challenges.

    “Locally, we should aim for immigration policies that are focused, proactive and aimed at practical, long-term solutions that ultimately hold up in court,” he said.

    Driscoll said he is open to amended versions of the legislation.

    O’Neill, whose district covers much of Northeast Philadelphia, could not immediately be reached for comment.

    The developments Thursday prompted Mayor Cherelle L. Parker to make one of her first public comments about President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, saying in a statement that her administration “understand[s] the public’s fear of the unknown as it relates to federal policy associated with immigration.”

    “We have a comprehensive approach to public safety, and we will always be prepared for any emergency, as we have consistently demonstrated and will continue to demonstrate,” Parker said. “I have a great deal of faith in our public safety leaders — our subject matter experts — who I asked to be a part of this team and we’re going to do our best to work in an intergovernmental fashion, along with City Council, to keep every Philadelphian safe.”

    Parker said she and her team are reviewing the legislation.

    Advocates and protestors call for ICE to get out of Philadelphia, in Center City, January 27, 2026.

    The mayor has largely avoided confrontation with Trump’s administration over immigration policy, a strategy some have speculated has helped keep Philadelphia from the National Guard deployments or surges of ICE agents seen in Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, and elsewhere.

    Why hasn’t Trump sent troops to Philly, the city where ‘bad things happen’? Everyone has a theory.

    But the popularity of the “ICE Out” package among Council members may force her to wade into the issue. Administration officials will testify when the bills are called up for committee hearings. If they are approved, Parker will have the choice of signing the bills into law, vetoing them, or letting them become law without her signature.

    Council bills require nine votes for passage, and 12 votes are needed to override mayoral vetoes. With 15 Council members already signaling their approval for the bills, chances appear strong that the city’s legislative branch has the numbers to override any opposition.

    Philly lawmakers want to restrict cooperation with ICE and ban agents from wearing masks

    Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has avoided confrontation with the White House on immigration issues.

    In a Council speech, Brooks addressed the debate over whether the legislation would draw Trump’s ire.

    “Staying silent is not an option when people are being publicly executed in the streets and the federal government is covering up their murders,” Brooks, of the progressive Working Families Party, said. “I want to be clear: ICE is already here. We don’t want a Minneapolis situation, but I reject the claim of those who are pretending we don’t already have a problem.”

    Council President Kenyatta Johnson, a centrist Democrat and an ally of Parker, shared a similar view.

    “From my perspective, the Trump administration has already been looking at the city,” Johnson told reporters. “Overall, the majority of members of City Council support the legislation, and so we see this legislation being successfully voted out of committee.”

    ICE agents have been arresting suspected undocumented immigrants in the city before and during Trump’s tenure, and his administration has canceled grants for the city and educational and medical institutions in Philadelphia. But the city has not seen a mass deployment of ICE agents or federalized troops.

    Councilmember Anthony Phillips, also a centrist and Parker ally, represents the 9th District, from which the mayor hails.

    “What the ’ICE Out’ legislation ultimately says to Donald Trump,” Phillips said, “is that no matter what you try to do to undermine the health and safety and well-being of Philadelphia citizens, we will stand up to you.”

    Johnson suggested potential legal issues could be ironed out through amendments if needed.

    “The reality is this: This is a moral issue, right?” he said. “And if there are any legality issues that has to be addressed as a body, we’ll work with our members to address it.”

    Next, Johnson will refer the legislation to committee, where members will hold one or more hearings featuring testimony from administration officials, experts, stakeholders, and the public. Council members can also amend the bills in committee.

    Kendra Brooks shown here during a press conference at City Hall to announce a package of bills aimed at pushing back against ICE enforcement in Philadelphia, January 27, 2026.

    Supporters of the legislation packed Council chambers Thursday morning, and many spoke during public comment, ranging from leaders of advocacy organizations to a former immigration judge to immigrants who tearfully pleaded for Council to pass the package swiftly.

    Several Spanish-speaking residents spoke through interpreters; other residents testified on behalf of friends or family members who are undocumented and were fearful to come to City Hall themselves. A school nurse told Council members that her students have asked her what tear gas feels like.

    “The traumatic effects of these [ICE] raids on our children and our families and our communities will last for years and generations to come,” said Jeannine Cicco Barker, a South Philadelphia psychologist who said she is the daughter of immigrants. “These times call for bold, brave new measures to protect our community, and you have a chance to do some of that here. Philly urgently needs these protections.”

    Ethan Tan, who said he is an immigrant and a father of two, said he is fearful for his family and community.

    “To this administration, fear is the point. Alienation is the point. Isolation is the point,” he said. “The ‘ICE Out’ package says to me and immigrants that we may be afraid, but we can show solidarity and resolve anyway.”

  • Will there be a government shutdown this weekend? Here’s what we know.

    Will there be a government shutdown this weekend? Here’s what we know.

    New year, same you googling repeatedly, “Is a government shutdown happening?” We see you. We get it. And the answer is: “Maybe.”

    The likelihood of a partial government shutdown this weekend has ramped up following a surge in immigration enforcement and related backlash in Minnesota.

    The highly publicized presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security in Minneapolis, alongside the death of Alex Pretti, the second person federal agents have fatally shot in the state, has reinvigorated efforts among Democrats to reject a bill to fund DHS.

    “The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] to protect the public,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Sunday. “People should be safe from abuse by their own government.”

    Schumer (D., N.Y.) said Democrats would not support keeping the government fully open if it means funding the Department of Homeland Security. Other Democratic senators have joined in calling for Senate Republicans to collaborate on advancing five other pending bills, aside from the DHS bill, and separately retooling the DHS measure.

    In case you need a refresher, here is what you need to know about deadlines, what a partial government shutdown looks like, and more.

    What’s a government shutdown vs. a partial government shutdown?

    A full government shutdown happens when all (or most) federal agencies have not secured funding. It usually means widespread furloughs, sometimes layoffs, and any nonessential government services are put on pause.

    Meanwhile, a partial government shutdown happens when Congress has funded only certain federal agencies, leaving others in limbo. In turn, some parts of the government would close while others keep operating.

    When a partial shutdown happens, some federal agencies and operations, like Social Security and air traffic control, keep running as usual. But other federal employees are furloughed.

    In this instance, agencies at risk of expiring funding include the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, and State; the Securities and Exchange Commission; and the federal court system, according to Reuters.

    Democrats are pushing Republicans to decouple the spending bill so disagreements over DHS don’t fuel disruptions to the other agencies. But Republicans so far say they will not break up the spending bill.

    When does government funding expire?

    Federal funding is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. A partial shutdown would occur if Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration do not reach an agreement by then.

    Where does the DHS funding bill stand?

    The House has done its part and is in recess until February. But Senate Democrats are pushing back on approvals, citing the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrants. That leaves the Senate with only a few options to avoid a shutdown if it cannot pass the current measures.

    Most legislation in the Senate needs 60 votes to move forward. Republicans hold 53 seats, meaning they need bipartisan support to pass the existing measure, which covers about $1.3 trillion in annual government spending, including military and social service funding.

    But Democrats want new guardrails on immigration enforcement and added oversight on DHS. Some demands include requiring judicial warrants for immigration arrests, and agents to wear visible identification, Time reported.

    Several Democratic senators who broke with their party last year to keep the government open say the killings of Pretti and Good at separate protests have changed their stance.

    Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.), who has historically broken with the Democratic Party to avoid government shutdowns, released a lengthy statement Monday saying that he wanted to see the DHS operation in Minneapolis end but would not support a government shutdown. But on Thursday, in a surprising break, Fetterman voted against advancing the six-bill package.

    His vote, along with 54 other senators who voted “no,” meant the financial package could not move forward.

    It is also worth noting that DHS would continue to operate and receive funding under a government shutdown. That is because DHS agencies received major funding through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. In turn, ICE and other parts of the agency would continue operating under a shutdown.

    Who is affected by a government shutdown?

    Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are affected, since many would be expected to work but would not receive pay until after the shutdown is lifted. Employees are typically guaranteed back pay.

    Many employees are also at risk of being furloughed and would not be allowed to work (but would also receive back pay thanks to legislation passed in 2019).

    Some of the main groups of employees that a shutdown could affect include (but are not limited to) active members of the military, federal law enforcement, federal transportation workers (like air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents, but not SEPTA workers), scientific researchers, and the IRS.

    The federal court system said it would not be able to continue full operations past Feb. 4, which could disrupt hearings and other activities, Reuters reported. Data and research activity from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Institutes of Health could also go dark.

    What about tax season?

    This potential partial shutdown comes during tax season.

    If a shutdown happens, funding for the IRS could lapse, which would in turn mean tax processing — and refunds — could be disrupted.

    During last year’s shutdown in October, the IRS approved a contingency plan that let the agency continue some activities under a shutdown. But, the agency said, refunds would be delayed aside from some direct electronic returns that could be automatically processed and direct-deposited. Taxpayers were still expected to file and pay their taxes on time.

    The IRS has not yet commented on a potential shutdown. Trump previously touted larger refunds this year because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Some experts say that emphasis could play a role in the agency remaining partially open.

    When would the government shut down?

    Congress and the Trump administration need to reach an agreement by midnight Friday. If they don’t, a shutdown would go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

    What was the longest government shutdown?

    The longest government shutdown was the most recent one, which began on Oct. 1, 2025, and lasted 43 days. It broke the record for the longest shutdown on the 36th day.

    What could a government shutdown mean for Philly?

    In Philadelphia, the October shutdown led to the closing of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center, to the chagrin of tourists. But that would not happen this time, because the national parks are funded by the Department of the Interior, which secured its funding through an already passed appropriations bill for the year.

    SNAP benefits would also not be affected this time.

    The Department of Transportation would close during this shutdown, but air traffic controllers would be required to work without pay. Similar to the last shutdown, this could lead to flight delays and cancellations.

    Other impacts could be in store as the shutdown’s implications become more clear.

  • John Fetterman joins other Democrats in voting against advancing DHS funding as potential shutdown looms

    John Fetterman joins other Democrats in voting against advancing DHS funding as potential shutdown looms

    U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) on Thursday voted against advancing a highly contested government funding package that includes allocations for the Department of Homeland Security, despite noting his objections to shutting down the government.

    The Senate voted 45-55 on the key procedural vote, failing to advance a budget package as the country moves closer to a partial government shutdown this weekend.

    With Fetterman aboard, every Democrat voted against the appropriations package because of the inclusion of funding for DHS. The party previously vowed to block DHS funding in the aftermath of federal immigration agents’ fatal shooting of two Americans in Minneapolis this month.

    Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) voted to advance the bill.

    Fetterman’s vote came as a surprise given the senator’s comments earlier in the week, when he said he would “never vote to shut our government down, especially our Defense Department,” one of the agencies that would have received funding from the appropriations package.

    It was unclear Thursday why Fetterman voted against the package, but it is unlikely to be the final version considered by the Senate, as eight Republicans also voted no. A shutdown is slated to begin Saturday if Congress does not pass a package this week.

    A spokesperson for Fetterman did not immediately return a request for comment on the senator’s vote.

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) was among the Republicans who voted no so that he could make a motion to reconsider the legislation.

    DHS oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, the agencies involved in the fatal Minnesota shootings. Democrats have been calling for a halt to additional funding in the wake of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

    But Fetterman noted Monday that the department received $178 billion from last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he opposed, and that ICE would continue to operate during a shutdown.

    “A vote to shut our government down will not defund ICE,” Fetterman said.

    Fetterman has previously suggested removing DHS funding from the package under consideration as a compromise. He has also urged President Donald Trump to fire DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

    A reporter from the Hill posted on X minutes after the vote that Fetterman saw his no vote as setting the stage to decouple DHS funding from the other five bills under consideration, rather than triggering a shutdown.

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) has pushed Republicans and the White House to strip the Department of Homeland Security funding from the rest of the bill. In a deal reached with the White House, DHS would still be funded, but for a short time to allow for negotiations on the Democrats’ demands. Other agencies included in the bill would be funded through the end of September.

    Negotiations remained ongoing Thursday.

    Within the last week, Fetterman faced mounting pressure from fellow Pennsylvania Democrats and constituents to vote against the package as tensions in Minneapolis continued to escalate.

    On Tuesday, every Democratic member of Pennsylvania’s U.S. House delegation cosigned a letter urging Fetterman and McCormick to vote against the funding. Constituents also gathered outside Fetterman’s office in Philadelphia on Tuesday to protest his stance.

    “We can no longer continue to give Homeland Security a blank check,” U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.) said Thursday morning in a virtual news conference with U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Pa.).

    Boyle was an outspoken critic of Fetterman’s votes against the previous government shutdown last year during a fight over healthcare subsidies.

    McCormick voted as expected to advance the GOP-led legislation.

    “I’m just not in favor of shutting down the government or stopping funding the government, and that’s the position that I’ve had through the last shutdown,” McCormick said about his support for the funding on a tele-town hall Tuesday night. “I’m not in favor of ever shutting down the government. It doesn’t matter what party is in power, but some people see that differently.”

    If lawmakers fail to pass a package by Friday, the federal government will undergo its second shutdown in four months, starting Saturday, potentially demoralizing federal workers and inconveniencing members of the public who rely on affected services.

    The previous shutdown started on Oct. 1, 2025, and lasted 43 days — the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

    This shutdown would be a partial one, affecting the Departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Education, Labor, Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development in addition to DHS.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which provides nutrition assistance to needy families, would not be affected.

    The other four Democratic senators from the Philadelphia region — Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sens. Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware — all joined Fetterman in voting no Thursday.

    Kim argued the vote was a bipartisan rebuke of the Trump administration’s immigration strategy and said he would be working with colleagues to deliver “real security” to the American public.

    “Their lawlessness has taken lives on the streets of our neighborhoods, and I’ve heard from so many about an overwhelming fear that they can be targeted next,” Kim said in a statement. “We need real changes to fix a broken and lawless system that has led to so many Americans losing trust in their government to keep them safe.”

    This story is developing and will be updated.

    Staff writer Aliya Schneider contributed to this article, which contains information from the Associated Press.

  • Gov. Mikie Sherrill says N.J. will create a database for uploading videos of ICE: ‘Get your phone out’

    Gov. Mikie Sherrill says N.J. will create a database for uploading videos of ICE: ‘Get your phone out’

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said her administration will create an online database for people to upload videos they record of ICE.

    “If you see an ICE agent in the street, get your phone out,” she urged New Jerseyans in an appearance on The Daily Show on Wednesday night with host Desi Lydic in New York City.

    Sherrill, a Democrat and former member of Congress, said her administration will set up an online portal “so people can upload all their cell phone videos and alert people.”

    Cell phone video from onlookers has been used to rebut the narrative of President Donald Trump’s administration after federal agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

    Sherrill outlined her plan just eight days after she was sworn into office. She became the second woman to lead the state and the first female veteran governor in the country.

    “They will pick people up, they will not tell us who they are … they’ll pick up American citizens. They picked up a 5-year-old child,” she said on the show. “We want documentation, and we are going to make sure we get it.”

    The policy announcement was not featured in the television broadcast, but it was posted to YouTube shortly afterward by The Daily Show.

    New Jersey residents routinely report ICE activity and arrests around the state, including recently in Bridgeton and Princeton. The Garden State is home to about the seventh-largest undocumented population in the country, an estimated 476,000 people, according to the Migration Policy Institute in Washington.

    Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, said Sherrill needs to do more.

    “We don’t need to see more evidence of what ICE is doing,” Torres said. “They’ve arrested a New Jersey mayor. They’ve gone after a sitting member of Congress. They’ve opened up a 1,000-bed facility in our state’s largest city and they’re ripping our families apart. New Jersey doesn’t need more evidence, we need leadership who is going to act.”

    She said the governor should work to pass additional immigrant protections, like those contained in two bills former Gov. Phil Murphy rejected in his final day in office that would have safeguarded immigrants’ data and expanded the state’s sanctuary policy.

    Mikie Sherrill supports enshrining NJ’s existing sanctuary policy into law as immigrant rights groups push for an expanded version

    Sherrill, meanwhile, also said her administration plans to put out information to help New Jerseyans know their rights in the state. And she said she will not allow ICE raids “to be staged from state properties.”

    Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, compared U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to secret police forces she observed in foreign nations during her service.

    “I knew where this was headed when we started to see DHS people taking loyalty oaths to the president, not the Constitution,” she said. “We saw people in the street with masks and no insignia, so not accountable at all, hiding from the population.”

    New Jersey has become a key state in the Trump administration’s plan to arrest and deport millions of immigrants, and has been slated for an expansion of ICE detention.

    A facility in Elizabeth was for a time the only detention center in the state. But the 1,000-bed Delaney Hall in Newark was reopened for detention in May, and the administration recently announced plans to hold 1,000 to 3,000 detainees at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, which spans parts of Burlington and Ocean Counties.

    The specific details surrounding that South Jersey undertaking remain unknown.

    In Wednesday night’s television appearance, Sherrill denounced the Minneapolis shootings, calling Good “a mother of three, who drops her 6-year-old off in her Honda Pilot and then gets shot and killed.”

    And she noted that Pretti worked at the Minneapolis VA as an ICU nurse.

    “I saw his official photo, and I’ve seen a million of those … with the flag in the background, I know those guys,” Sherrill said.

    Pretti was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent, while Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent. Both agencies fall under the Department of Homeland Security.

    The new governor also said on The Daily Show that she called Trump to discuss his decision to freeze funding for the planned Gateway Tunnel in North Jersey, a project championed by Sherrill that would connect New York and New Jersey under the Hudson River.

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill does her best New Jersey “Oh!” and “C’mon!” impressions on The Daily Show with host Desi Lydic.

    “I haven’t heard back from him yet to flag for him that this is about 100,000 jobs in the region, and by the way, his numbers aren’t looking so good in that area,” she said.

    Sherrill said the president “should listen to me because I just won back all his voters,” citing her victory in November of more than 14 percentage points, outperforming her Democratic predecessors and reversing rightward shifts in 2024.

    But she also said it is time to “rethink” the federal government’s relationship with states because of attacks from Trump.

    “We need to start looking at expanding,” she said. “This is a time when I think we’re going to see a large expansion of state power, because the states are the rational actors in this space.”

    Sherrill also played a game with Lydic where she picked which things were most New Jersey, choosing Tony Soprano over Snookie; hating New Yorkers over hating Pennsylvanians; diners over Wawa; and “C’mon!” over “Oh!”

  • Philly City Council members will soon consider seven ‘ICE Out’ bills. Here’s what the proposals would do.

    Philly City Council members will soon consider seven ‘ICE Out’ bills. Here’s what the proposals would do.

    City Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Rue Landau on Thursday plan to formally introduce their “ICE Out” legislative package, which aims to place restrictions on federal immigration enforcement operations in Philadelphia.

    The seven bills range from codifying into law Philadelphia’s existing “sanctuary city” policies to a controversial ban on law enforcement officers wearing masks. Almost all of the bills contain exceptions noting that they do not apply if Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents secure judicial warrants for their activities or are acting under superseding federal laws.

    If all of the legislation becomes law, Philadelphia would have some of the nation’s most stringent local restrictions on federal immigration-enforcement operations.

    Philly lawmakers want to restrict cooperation with ICE and ban agents from wearing masks

    It’s likely that several of the bills will face legal questions, such as whether the mask ban is constitutional and whether Council has the authority to enact some of the rules the proposals seek to establish.

    After the bills are introduced Thursday, Council President Kenyatta Johnson will refer them to committee. One or more hearings will likely be scheduled in the spring.

    At that point, officials from Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration, stakeholders, and experts will testify. Lawmakers could then amend the bills and vote on them in committee. If they advance, they would head to the Council floor for a final vote.

    In a sign that the bills are likely to gain traction, Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson on Wednesday praised Brooks’ and Landau’s efforts.

    “My heart breaks for everyone who has been impacted by ICE’s violent and dangerous actions and for everyone who feels afraid and unsafe in their communities,” Gilmore Richardson said, adding that she will work with other Council members “to protect our residents.”

    If approved on final passage, the bills would head to Parker’s desk. The mayor can veto them, sign them into law, or allow them to become law without her signature.

    Parker so far has largely avoided confrontation with President Donald Trump’s administration over his aggressive deportation campaign. The “ICE Out” bills may force her to engage more directly.

    Here’s what you need to know about each of the bills.

    Banning ICE agents from wearing masks

    Author: Brooks.

    Key excerpt: “A law enforcement officer is guilty of criminal concealment if the law enforcement officer, while performing official duties and interacting with the public …. wears a mask, facial covering, disguise or any other garment that obscures the identity of the law enforcement officer, or fails to identify themselves to a subject of arrest, holding or detention.”

    A person looks out of their vehicle as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walk away, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Richfield, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

    What it does: The bill would ban law enforcement officers from obscuring their identities with masks. It also would require officers to wear badges, and would make it an offense to conceal badges or to decline to provide identifying information if requested by people they are arresting. Additionally, the bill would ban officers from using unmarked vehicles.

    Exceptions: The bill includes exceptions for undercover assignments, medical or religious masks, SWAT teams, and smoke-filtering masks worn during fires or similar emergencies.

    How it would be enforced: The district attorney would be able to charge an officer with a summary offense, the lowest level of crime in Pennsylvania. If found guilty, the officer would pay a fine of $300 for each day the law was violated or face up to 90 days in prison.

    Additionally, the bill would give any individual “aggrieved by a violation” the right to sue an agent for wearing a mask, with fines up to $2,000 per offense if a judge sides with the plaintiff.

    Twist: This bill applies to all law enforcement officers, not just ICE agents. That includes city police. It is likely that the Philadelphia Police Department, which sometimes uses unmarked cars, will have something to say about the proposed rules once the bill gets a committee hearing.

    DA Larry Krasner forms coalition of progressive prosecutors committed to charging federal agents who commit crimes

    Stopping Philly from coordinating with ICE

    Author: Brooks.

    Key excerpt: “No City Agency or Employee shall enter into, renew, or participate in a 287(g) Agreement with the federal government.”

    What it does: The primary objective of this bill is to ensure the city never enters into a 287(g) agreement, in which local law enforcement officers are trained to perform immigration enforcement duties. (The agreement refers to a section of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.) Philadelphia is not currently in a 287(g) agreement, so that provision would not have a significant impact in the near term.

    But the bill includes several other notable provisions, such as prohibiting city employees from assisting immigration enforcement in any way, and requiring them to report requests to assist ICE to their superiors.

    How it would be enforced: The city solicitor, Philadelphia’s top lawyer, would be responsible for suing city agencies or employees who violate the bill’s provisions. Potential consequences include a $2,000 fine and termination.

    Kendra Brooks shown here during a news conference at City Hall on Tuesday to announce a package of bills aimed at pushing back against ICE enforcement in Philadelphia.

    Prohibiting discrimination based on immigration status in city services

    Author: Landau.

    Key excerpt: “No City agency, official, employee, contractor or subcontractor shall …

    • “request information about a person’s citizenship or immigration status …
    • “condition the provision of City benefits, services, or opportunities on a person’s citizenship or immigration status or national origin …
    • “threaten, coerce, or intimidate a person based on their actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status [or] …
    • “initiate an investigation or take law enforcement action based on a person’s actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status.”

    What it does: This bill aims to protect individuals from being treated differently based on their immigration status when dealing with city government services.

    How it would be enforced: The city solicitor or anyone aggrieved by violations of the bill would be able to sue the offending city employee or agency.

    What are your rights if ICE comes to your home or work?

    Banning employment discrimination based on immigration status

    Author: Landau.

    Key excerpt: “It shall be an unlawful employment practice to deny or interfere with the employment opportunities of an individual based upon … citizenship or immigration status.”

    What it does: The bill would add “citizenship or immigration status” to Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance, which prohibits employers from discriminating against workers based on characteristics including race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.

    How it would be enforced: If the bill is approved, Philadelphians who feel their employers have discriminated against them based on their immigration status will be able to file complaints to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Rights, which adjudicates alleged violations of the Fair Practices Ordinance.

    Rue Landau shown here at the Tuesday news conference.

    Withholding data on citizenship and immigration status

    Author: Landau.

    Key excerpt: “No City agency … shall enter into any contractual agreement or arrangement with a federal agency or federal contractor to provide access to any data, database, or dataset where the purpose of such access includes assisting or supporting immigration enforcement operations.”

    What it does: This bill aims to prevent the federal government from accessing city data that could help immigration agents determine individuals’ citizenship status.

    It also would require the city to produce an annual report tallying federal data requests related to immigration status and any violations of the bill.

    How it would be enforced: The city solicitor or any individual aggrieved by violations of the bill would be able to sue the offending city employee or agency.

    Prohibiting immigration enforcement on city-owned property

    Author: Brooks.

    Key excerpt: “It is unlawful to use City-owned or controlled property for the purposes of staging, conducting or assisting federal immigration enforcement activities.”

    What it does: The bill prohibits immigration enforcement operations on city-owned land, such as federal agents making arrests in city parks or ICE staging raids on municipally owned parking lots.

    The bill also allows city agencies to post signs on municipal property stating: “This property is owned and controlled by the City of Philadelphia. It may not be used for immigration enforcement activities.”

    How it would be enforced: The city solicitor may file a lawsuit to ask a judge to order the federal government to cease and desist from using city property.

    Advocates and protesters on Tuesday in Center City call for ICE to get out of Philadelphia.

    Requiring warrants for nonpublic areas of ‘Safe Community Spaces’

    Author: Brooks.

    Key excerpt: “No employee or agent engaged in official duties at a Safe Community Place shall have the authority to consent to permitting a law enforcement officer to enter a nonpublic area of the facility … to identify, arrest or otherwise impose a penalty upon a person for purposes of federal immigration enforcement.”

    What it does: The bill would effectively require immigration agents to secure judicial warrants to access nonpublic areas in “Safe Community Spaces,” including city-owned or -controlled hospitals, libraries, courthouses, recreation centers, and other city facilities. Currently, agents can access those areas if they get permission.

    The proposal also would also require judicial warrants for instances in which law enforcement seeks access to nonpublic areas “to identify or impose civil or criminal liability upon a person” exercising protected rights such as the freedom of speech, assembly, and petitioning.

    Lastly, the bill would require city agencies to “identify property that has been, and is likely to be used by, immigration enforcement” and mark it with signage stating: “In nonpublic areas of this property, a judicial warrant is required for law enforcement activities and no voluntary consent may be solicited from any employee.”

    How it would be enforced: Only the city solicitor can sue to enforce the bill’s provisions. Such a suit would not be filed against a federal agent. Instead, it would be filed against a staffer at a “Safe Community Space” who gave federal agents permission to access nonpublic areas at the facility.

    Staff writers Anna Orso and Jeff Gammage contributed to this article.

  • Bruce Springsteen releases ICE protest song, ‘Streets of Minneapolis’

    Bruce Springsteen releases ICE protest song, ‘Streets of Minneapolis’

    Bruce Springsteen has released an anti-ICE protest song called “Streets of Minneapolis.”

    Singing out on behalf of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both of whom were shot to death by federal immigration enforcement agents this month, Springsteen’s song is harshly critical of the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security’s occupying force in Minnesota this year.

    “King Trump’s private army from the DHS, guns belted to their coats,” Springsteen sings in the slowly building, folk-gospel song’s opening verse. “Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law, or so their story goes.”

    “I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis,” Springsteen said on social media on Wednesday. “It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors, and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free.”

    The second verse continues:

    “Against smoke and rubber bullets, in the dawn’s early light / Citizens stood for justice, their voices ringing through the night / And there were bloody footprints, where mercy should have stood / And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets, Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”

    Springsteen campaigned against Trump in 2024, singing at a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the Liacouras Center on the Temple University campus in North Philly in the lead-up to the election.

    Last year, while on tour in Europe, Springsteen began his concerts by calling the Trump administration “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous” before performing his patriotic song, “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

    President Trump responded by calling Springsteen “Highly Overrated,” “not a talented guy,” and a “dried prune of a rocker.”

    Donald Trump hits back at ‘dried prune of a rocker’ Bruce Springsteen

    “Streets of Minneapolis,” which is Springsteen’s third “Streets” song after “Streets of Fire” and “Streets of Philadelphia,” speaks truth to power not only about Trump, but also Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

    Referring to claims that ICE agents responded with gunfire because their own lives were at risk, Springsteen sings, as the music swells: “Their claim was self-defense sir, just don’t believe your eyes / It’s our blood and bones and these whistles and phones / Against Miller and Noem’s dirty lies.”

    “Street of Minneapolis” is not the first Springsteen song to protest a death at the hands of law enforcement. His 2001 song “American Skin (41 Shots)” was written in response to the 1999 shooting of Amadou Diallo by four plainclothes police officers of the New York Police Department who were subsequently acquitted on all charges.

    The weekend before Pretti’s death, Springsteen made a surprise appearance at the Light of Day benefit concert in Red Bank, N.J., where he dedicated “Promised Land” to Good and said, “If you believe you don’t deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest, then send a message to this president, as the mayor of the city said: ‘ICE should get the f— out of Minneapolis.’ ”

    “Streets of Minneapolis” leans into its rage as it progresses, and promises to continue to honor Good and Pretti, as it closes with Springsteen singing:

    “We’ll take our stand for this land, and the stranger in our midst / We’ll remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis.”

  • Immigration activists stage protests at Philly Target stores, demand the company reject ICE

    Immigration activists stage protests at Philly Target stores, demand the company reject ICE

    Activists with No ICE Philly demonstrated at Target stores in the city on Tuesday evening, attempting to slow business operations at a company that they say wrongly cooperates with federal immigration enforcement.

    Stores in South Philadelphia, Rittenhouse, Fairmount, Port Richmond and on Washington Avenue and City Avenue were among those targeted, the group said.

    Advocates say the retailer has failed to speak out against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to safeguard employees and customers, and has allowed the agency to set up operations in its parking lots.

    More than 40 people rallied on a frozen, 19-degree night outside the Target at Broad Street and Washington Avenue, holding signs that showed solidarity with Minneapolis residents who have resisted ICE in their community.

    “From MPLS to PHL, keep ICE out,” read one sign.

    Demonstrators gathered outside of the Target at Broad and Washington on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

    Inside, some masked customers bought ice trays and single bottles of table salt. As soon as they paid for the items at the checkout counters, they headed to the “Returns” area to seek refunds.

    Items were quickly restocked on store shelves by staff, only to be purchased and returned again.

    Demonstrators visited at least seven stores, according to the Rev. Jay Bergen, a leader of No ICE Philly and pastor at the Germantown Mennonite Church.

    “Our actions are in solidarity with people across the country responding to the call from Minneapolis communities to pressure Target,” Bergen said Wednesday.

    Company spokespeople did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the protests in Philadelphia. Target, founded in 1962, operates 1,989 stores across the United States and has a net revenue of more than $100 billion a year.

    At Broad and Washington on Tuesday, members of No ICE Philly handed out pocket-sized fliers that described their goals as they urged shoppers to go elsewhere. Some people turned away after talking to demonstrators. Others who went inside were met with boos.

    “Find another store!” the protesters shouted, as a police officer looked on.

    Elijah Wald, 66, said the Washington Avenue location was his neighborhood Target.

    “Our main hope is that businesses will understand that they need to protect their employees, that they need to not collaborate with a government that right now is targeting everybody,” he said.

    Wald, whose mother was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Austria, said he has always felt positive about immigration, that the United States was built of “people who are used to moving to find work, moving to find cheaper housing.”

    But the discourse over ICE operations in major cities has gone beyond undocumented people, said Wald.

    “They’re shooting U.S. citizens now,” he said.

    Demonstrators gathered outside of the Target at Broad and Washington Streets on Tuesday.

    At the Target at Snyder Plaza, about 20 demonstrators encouraged people to do their shopping elsewhere.

    “Protest with your wallet; Acme is right there,” a protester said through a sound system.

    Celine Bossart, 34, said boycotts are an effective way to denounce ICE actions.

    “As citizens, our power is limited, but a big part of the power that we do have is where we choose to spend our money,” she said, “and at the end of the day, corporations aren’t necessarily going to listen until it hits their bottom line.”

    A man in a Flyers jersey stopped to heckle the demonstrators, who responded with words of their own. Bossart said the protest did not aim to make anyone’s day difficult.

    “Our neighbors are people who work at Target, people who work at Acme; these are the neighbors who we’re trying to protect,” she said. “So we’re just trying to send a message to upper, upper management.”

    Last week, demonstrators held a sit-in at a store in Minneapolis, where the company is headquartered, chanting, “Something ’bout this isn’t right ― why does Target work for ICE?”

    At other Minnesota stores, demonstrators formed long lines to buy bags of winter ice melt, then immediately got back in line to return them, slowing the checkout process.

    No ICE Philly, which has led demonstrations against the agency, and against the arrests of immigrants outside the city Criminal Justice Center, said Target must:

    • Publicly call for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to leave Minnesota.
    • Post signs in its stores that deny entrance to immigration agents, absent a signed judicial warrant.
    • Train store staff on how to respond if agents arrive.
    • Publicly call for Congress to end ICE funding.

    Chief executives of Target and more than 60 large Minnesota companies issued a public letter on Sunday calling for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions.” It marked the first time, The New York Times reported, that the most recognizable businesses in the state weighed in on the turmoil in Minneapolis.

    Critics said the letter offered too little, too late, coming after two local U.S. citizens were shot to death by federal agents.