Slippery Rock council rejects ICE agreement for borough police
SLIPPERY ROCK — After weeks of consideration and hearing from dozens of residents, borough council decided to reject an agreement that would have let borough police assist the federal Department of Homeland Security with immigration enforcement.
Slippery Rock Borough Council voted 4-3 during its meeting Tuesday, Aug. 18, to reject a proposed 287(g) agreement between the police department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Council members John Hicks, Jeff Campbell, Alex Tuten and Paul Leuken voted to reject the agreement; while Jennifer Ravert, Denton Zeronas and Lauren Christmann voted against rejecting the agreement in hopes of tabling the matter for a later meeting.
The agreement first came to council during the Aug. 5 meeting, where Mayor Jondavid Longo said the agreement would lead to an increase in resources and some financial benefits.
Council members questioned whether borough police were in favor or if the agreement would sow further political division.
Before the agreement was denied, the meeting saw dozens of residents, students and taxpayers speak both for and against the agreement.
Kimberly Jones, an Indigenous American resident of the borough, expressed her belief students and residents alike would feel more unsafe if the agreement is signed.
“The students are a part of our community,” she said. “They come here to spend, learn, build friendships and contribute to our university and town. I do not want international students — whether driving through Slippery Rock, going to class, going to the grocery store or simply the bus — could be put on someone’s radar because of their immigration status.”
Benjamin Uber, a former junior councilman for the borough, said the agreement would primarily bolster borough police over inviting ICE to the town.
“It will give our officers access to a larger database of people who have broken the law. It will give our officers better training and they’ll provide grant opportunities for a new police car. For a town whose budget is largely taken up by the police force, this will free up money to be used for other things and make sure our taxes are not raised in the future,” he said.
Alexander Thompson, president of SRU’s Turning Point USA chapter, said the risks of letting undocumented immigrants live in the borough are plentiful.
“What if one of them calls 911 and they get the ambulance to respond,” he said. “Our borough only staffs one ambulance. If that illegal immigrant is getting the help they need, what happens if one of our U.S. citizens needs the help from the ambulance and cannot receive it and dies due to a lack of resources?”
SRU professor Michelle Amodei told borough council of an incident involving a nontraditional student she claimed was followed by ICE agents back to campus after presenting documentation.
“I know this because he called me and didn’t know what to do and was horrified and afraid and said ‘Dr. A, I’m a citizen. I showed ID. Why are they following me?’ They followed him all the way to campus and then just stopped shy of turning into the parking lot,” she said.
After the vote, many members of borough council discussed their beliefs on the agreement and next steps for the borough community.
“We have done our own education and we have also been educated by you and we appreciate that. Personally, I felt very strongly that I did not want divisiveness coming to this town. Let’s not take this moment and exacerbate divisiveness,” Tuten said.
Zeronas said he was in favor of the agreement so borough police would be the ones behind immigration enforcement rather than unknown federal agents.
“(ICE) can still be here if that was their choice or if that’s what the agency was directed to do. I would have preferred our officers would have been the first in line to go ahead and deal with any of those with their background and track record of community policing,” he said.
The next Slippery Rock Borough Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1.
