As its first order of business, the new Congress fulfilled a campaign pledge made by Republican candidates and President Trump to strengthen federal immigration enforcement. Area U.S.

Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) and newly elected Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh), along with their Republican colleagues and almost a quarter of Democrats, passed the Laken Riley Act, named after the Georgia nursing student murdered last year by a Venezuelan man in the U.S. illegally and previously charged with shoplifting in New York. Now, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be required to detain and deport illegal immigrants charged with certain crimes, including theft and causing death or serious bodily injury.

With new obligations on ICE and a presidential administration that is now focused on addressing illegal immigration, we must ensure that Pennsylvania is doing its part to protect our citizens and other legal residents. That’s why I recently joined my State Senate colleagues Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) and Wayne Langerholc (R-Cambria) to sponsor legislation requiring county district attorneys and the state Attorney General to notify ICE whenever they learn during the course of a criminal proceeding that a defendant is not in this country legally. This change will guarantee ICE can detain and deport an illegalimmigrant charged with a crime.

This bill was passed out of the Senate with a bipartisan, veto-proof majority last session but was not even given consideration by the Democrat-majority State House. The House’s lack of action, and Gov. Shapiro’s failure to lead on efforts to stop illegal immigration, have given cover to those municipalities that are considered “sanctuary cities” and in some cases openly defy ICE orders to detaiillegal immigrants after arrest.

We need to keep the City of Philadelphia, Bucks, Lehigh, and Northampton counties, and every other Pennsylvania municipality from appearing on any list of sanctuary cities that don’t fully cooperate with ICE. Those of us in the Pennsylvania legislature who support upholding our immigration laws have a new ally in President Trump’s Department of Justice, which is now making clear that “state and local [entities must] comply with the Executive Branch’s immigration enforcement initiatives” and that “state and local laws, policies, and activities that are inconsistent with Executive Branch immigration initiatives” may be subject to federal legal action.

In warning Congress about the cost of implementing the Laken Riley Act, the Homeland Security Department under former President Biden estimated it might need more than 10,000 enforcement personnel and 110,000 detention beds. To me, this is a clear admission by the federal government of the scope of the problem and the reason we must more effectively enforce our immigration laws. Why would we knowingly risk allowing thousands of illegal immigrants who have been arrested for serious crimes to be released and possibly commit crimes elsewhere, rather than detain and deport them through ICE?

The legal residents of Upper Macungie Township, Lower Milford Township, Quakertown and everywhere in between deserve better than that. I don’t want to have to learn about another Laken Riley. Or Jocelyn Nungaray, the 12-year-old from Texas who was raped and strangled to death by alleged assailants here illegally from Venezuela. Or the two New York City police officers brutally attacked by an illegal alien in 2023, months after the man got out of jail on theft charges. There are too many tragedies, too many American families hurt, that could have been avoided if ICE and our state and local authorities were aligned on upholding our immigration laws.

I want to use my position as a Pennsylvania State Senator to be part of the solution. I want to protect law-abiding citizens and put all levels of government on notice that ICE must be notified if an illegal immigrant has been arrested in their jurisdiction for another crime. I look forward to my legislation passing the Senate and hope the House and Governor Shapiro will join in this bipartisan effort to assist ICE in enforcing our immigration laws.