YORK COUNTY, Pa. — Advocates for York's growing population of Haitian immigrants are pushing for the York City Council to pass an ordinance to give it protection from immigration sweeps as it fears for the future.
The York Trust Act, which was introduced in a meeting last Tuesday, would prohibit city employees, including police, from asking about residents’ immigration status or working with federal agencies to locate a person based on immigration status unless required to by law.
Deborah Detzel, director of the YMCA New American Welcome Center in York, works extensively with the Haitian community in the city and says the ordinance would help protect the population in York from future immigration crackdowns.
"What I fear most are immigration sweeps because they have come here in good faith of finding safety, and they have followed the correct processes," Detzel said.
Detzel estimates that York has welcomed 6,000 to 12,000 Haitians in the last three to four years legally through temporary protected status for those escaping dire conditions back home.
She says those who come to work help fill jobs in the area that wouldn't otherwise be filled.
"If there are immigration sweeps, or if work cards are revoked for some reason because of a change of laws, we're going to feel the impact economically in this community," Detzel said. "It's going to take a long time for packages to be delivered to your door. You might not get your potato chips as easily. They're in companies everywhere, doing the low labor jobs that are available, most of them on shifts that most people don't want to work."
Then-president Donald Trump attempted to revoke that protection in 2017, but his administration's efforts to revoke TPS in several countries, including Haiti, were blocked by the courts. Now re-elected, he has stated his intention to attempt to do so again.
"There are many, many countries that have temporary protected status, and I certainly hope that the incoming administration doesn't end TPS just for Haitians," Detzel said.
York Mayor Michael Helfrich has opposed the City Council ordinance, fearing the incoming Trump administration would target the city’s federal funding if it passes.
"We have always been welcoming," Detzel said. "My grandparents on both sides were immigrants. They came here, [and] they built a life here. I've had a good life because they were welcomed here, and that's who I think York is."
The City Council plans to vote on the ordinance at its meeting next Tuesday.