A Bucks County judge is expected to decide next month if the sheriff can implement a controversial program that grants county deputies the power to act as federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Though the federal government is the only entity with the jurisdiction to remove people from the U.S., hospitals across the nation sometimes return uninsured noncitizen patients in need of long-term care to their countries of origin.
Monthly fees charged by the for-profit contractor that runs Pennsylvania's largest immigration detention center have increased by hundreds of thousands of dollars during the massive deportation push launched by President Donald Trump this year.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States, according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press.
If the new cities and counties are accepted into the lawsuit, there would be a total of 50 localities in 14 states, including Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania has the 12th highest immigrant population in the nation which helps to contribute $30.1 billion in spending power to the state’s economy.
As Pennsylvania’s Hispanic population continues to increase, voters in the state want the government to create better opportunities for immigrants to become U.S. citizens.
A federal judge on Tuesday halted major fee increases for citizenship and other immigration benefits three days before they were to take effect.
“Either you risk going back to school and endangering the safety and health of students and faculty, or you have to go and leave the country."
Immigrants rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers accused the president of using exploiting a pandemic to further his anti-immigrant agenda.
