Frontline DIGNITY was interviewed in the following Public Source article: Doubling down, doubling back: local departments diverge on ICE cooperation.
Stowe police cancelled an agreement with the federal agency following a Public Source inquiry, then inked a new one days later. Springdale defended its contract during a public meeting; Robinson denies being a signatory. A Mount Washington arrest stirs controversy.
An immigration enforcement agreement that melted away in sunlight has again solidified.
Two weeks ago, Stowe Deputy Police Chief Charles Wilker told Public Source his department was terminating its agreement with ICE so they could “negotiate” the matter with the township’s elected commissioners, who had not been consulted. Later that day, the department disappeared from a national list of formal ICE partners.
A week later, Stowe was back on the list, with a new agreement dated Dec. 11, according to ICE. It does not appear that the township commissioners were informed of the decision.
[..]In one video, two men in vests marked “Police” repeatedly punch a man while he is on the ground and then sit on him as he cries out in Spanish. A person then approaches the scene of the arrest and repeatedly tells the arresting agents, “He’s telling you, he cannot breathe.” The agents eventually bind the arrestee’s hands, stand him up, lead him to a white minivan and shove him inside.
In another video taken somewhat later, Pittsburgh police stand near the van.
The immigrant rights group Frontline Dignity issued a release saying the arrest happened around 8 a.m. and adding that the arrestee’s truck window was smashed.
“The graphic brutality of federal agents in our streets is beneath the call of law enforcement to keep everyone in our country safe, ” said Jaime Martinez, executive director of Frontline Dignity. “Our community must unequivocally condemn these actions and stand for dignity.”