Scoop: Deluzio presses ICE after Oakmont arrest
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U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Aspinwall) is pressing ICE for answers after federal agents detained an Oakmont immigrant whose family and local leaders say had legal U.S. status.
Why it matters: The case of Jose Flores, a Nicaraguan immigrant who was taken from Oakmont last week by federal agents, has rattled the community — and now has the attention of a member of Congress.
Context: Flores and his wife, Hariett, arrived in the U.S. from Nicaragua in 2022 and are legally permitted to work in the U.S. as they await pending asylum cases, Hariett told TribLive last week. Flores was arrested near his home in front of his 8-year-old daughter, his wife said.
- Oakmont Borough Council on Tuesday night proposed a resolution to formally bar local police from enforcing noncriminal federal immigration laws or entering into 287(g) agreements as a result of Flores' arrest.
- Council plans to vote on the resolution at its regular meeting on Feb. 17. It will also send a statement to ICE demanding justification for Flores' arrest.
Driving the news: Axios obtained a letter Deluzio sent to ICE acting director Todd Lyons on Tuesday, demanding answers to a series of questions surrounding Flores' detention.
- Those questions included on what basis Flores was detained, whether a warrant was issued, and whether Flores' detention was part of a targeted action.
Zoom in: Deluzio, who represents Oakmont and the surrounding suburbs, also wants ICE to tell him how many people were detained in the borough in January and their status, if there are reasons immigrants are targeted there, and if any removal proceedings have started.
ICE did not respond to Axios' request for comment on Tuesday.
State of play: Rep. Deluzio has previously received limited details from immigration officials. In a Jan. 30 letter obtained by Axios, ICE responded to his questions about a July enforcement action in Ambridge. ICE told Deluzio:
- It arrested 11 undocumented immigrants during that action.
- It was assisting the Ambridge Police Department as police performed traffic stops.
- The 11 immigrants didn't have "authorization to be in the United States and were subject to arrest," but ICE didn't specify if they had committed any local crimes.
What we're watching: Deluzio lamented the time it took ICE to respond to his first request.
- "I expect more prompt communication in response to my Congressional inquiries," he wrote Tuesday.