On January 24, 2026, protesters braved freezing temperatures in Philadelphia to express their anger at the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. They also called on Gov. Josh Shapiro to oppose federal efforts in other states. (Photo by Emily Previti/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
Gov. Josh Shapiro addressed growing concerns about immigration enforcement tactics Saturday hours after federal agents shot another person in Minneapolis amid escalating confrontations with city residents, government and public security officials.
“What we are seeing in Minnesota is absolutely unacceptable,” Shapiro said. “This is very dangerous not only for Minnesota, but for the entire country. … What’s happening in Minneapolis could happen here, in Philadelphia, in Pittsburgh, in Lancaster or in other communities throughout our commonwealth. Let me just say one thing: We are prepared for it.”
Shapiro spoke in response to a question about what he is doing to protect Pennsylvanians from Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a book signing at the Parkway Central Library in Philadelphia. Just outside, on a historically frigid afternoon, hundreds of people gathered to protest the rise of ICE in several states in recent months. In their opinion, it was silence and passivity on the part of the governor who was starting his re-election campaign. Shapiro is also mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential candidate.
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Andrew Lefkowitz of Montgomery County was in town for an event organized by support groups including the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition and the Council on Islamic Relations.
Lefkowitz, 32, said he wanted to protest the test in which the governor “doesn’t do much about ICE in Pennsylvania.” But he added that inaction is not confined to Shapiro.
“Democratic leaders … throw up their hands and say, ‘Well, you know, there’s not much we can do. We’re doing the best we can,'” said Lefkowitz, an activist who helps people and their families find legal assist and other support when they are in ICE custody. “They’re trying to play by the rules. And Trump is throwing the rules out the window.”
Lefkowitz said he felt a particular sense of urgency on Saturday when he learned that: A US Border Patrol officer shot and killed 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. It was the second fatal shooting since the Department of Homeland Security began sending thousands of immigration officers to the Twin Cities region last month and beyond.
Last week, 37-year-old Renee Good died ruled murder. Details about DHS have emerged a note containing a legal argument justifying forced entry without a warrant to people’s homes.
Shapiro said Saturday that his administration is doing “tabletop exercises” and planning.
“We are working with our partners at the local level and, where possible, at the federal level to keep them safe and to ensure that we can continue to maintain and build the existing bonds and trust … and not have them eroded by the federal government sending ICE against the will of the mayor or against the will of the governor,” he said.
Shapiro also said, “here in Pennsylvania, we don’t do ICE’s work for them.”
“Our state police [don’t] we ask about a person’s status, and we do not provide that information to the federal government,” he said.
However, the supporters failed several gaps in the Pennsylvania State Police’s civil immigration enforcement policy which they believe should be closed down, which would all but cut off communication with ICE. His one on the list of executive actions they say the governor should take action to protect immigrants and the general public in the face of a surge in law enforcement by the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, dozens of other law enforcement agencies in the commonwealth — local police, constables, county jails and sheriff’s departments — have agreements formalizing cooperation with ICE.
Known as 287(g) agreements.delegate tasks and responsibilities to local law enforcement agencies, which vary depending on the type of contract in force. It is by far the most common among law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania task force model. Provides the greatest rights of the three types of articles. 287(g), authorizing trained officers to conduct enforcement activities such as making civil immigration arrests, gathering evidence in deportation cases, and issuing requests to other agencies to detain people on suspected immigration violations.
These agreements would be banned or restricted under proposals being developed by the state legislature, modeled on laws already in effect in some other states.
John Cole, a freelance reporter, contributed to this story.
