Our Neighbors Are Being Kidnapped

On Monday, July 20th, a local Mountville resident was arrested by local police who are coordinating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers (ICE) and is now detained at a Moshannon Valley detention center in Clearfield County. LNP reports that Wu Shaoping is an asylum seeker from China. He was formerly a human rights lawyer advocating on behalf of ethnic and religious minorities. His criticism of the Chinese government forced him to flee his home county in search of safety that he thought he would find with us.

Mr. Wu and his family have lived peacefully in Lancaster County since 2023. LNP states that Mr. Wu arrived in the United States on a six-month tourist visa and applied for asylum shortly after, with approved work authorization. To make ends meet, Mr. Wu has been employed as a full-time Amazon driver. With no criminal record, during a traffic stop, Mr. Wu was arrested by local police in Mount Holly Springs while en route to making deliveries.

Currently, Mr. Wu has been crammed in a room with over 60 people in a government-run detention facility. He is a father, law-abiding citizen, and community member of Lancaster County who is now being imprisoned, away from his family, and detained for an unknown amount of time in an ICE facility away from his family. Mr. Wu did express relief at being able to talk with his wife and his attorney while detained.

How Is This Possible? ICE 287(g) Program

From ICE.gov: The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 added Section 287(g) to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), authorizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to delegate state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under ICE’s direction and oversight.

287(g) agreements allow local enforcement agencies to perform certain duties of ICE and/or coordinate with the agency to perform immigration enforcement. These agreements vary from municipality to municipality; they promise reimbursements to the local departments in hopes of increasing their budgets. On the other hand, they create more work for local Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) without the additional support. Creating more issues within the LEA’s for non-criminal violations.

Across Lancaster County, there has been pushback and withdrawals on the 287(g) agreements for various reasons. The Quarryville Police Department withdrew in February of this year, and residents in Mt. Holly Springs Borough brought up concerns in their local council meetings back in March.

CBS 21 spoke with local Councilwoman Pam Still, who had concerns about the upfront costs the borough would be responsible for. She told CBS 21, “[The borough would pay for] salaries and benefits, local transportation, official issue material. It [the agreement] goes on to say they even want us to pay for the toner, printer, leg restraints, handcuffs.” 

CBS 21 reported Councilwoman Still also explained that any detentions or arrests made pertaining to Immigration Enforcement would require the arresting officer to drive whoever was apprehended to the closest detention center.

So even in the area where Mr. Wu was detained, that detainment cost was left to the taxpayers of the Mt. Holly Springs area, for a non-criminal offense for someone who is lawfully able to work and live in Pennsylvania.

Next Steps: Take Action!

Call Your Local Representatives

We need to let our elected officials know that this is not the community WE want to live in! We do not want our neighbors to be kidnapped, detained, or murdered!

Call, email, send letters to your local Council Members, State Representatives, and State Senators! 

Let them know you want your neighbors to live without fear of being kidnapped, detained, or murdered! Tell them you want to withdraw from 287(g) agreements. They don’t serve the community, put a strain on local resources, and create more fear and distrust in local law enforcement.

Attend a Local Protest

Let’s take to the streets to demand justice for our neighbors. ICE agents took the lives of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Guerrero need to be held accountable. 

We want justice for our kidnapped people! Our neighbors should not have to live in fear because of their immigration status.

Immigration is a civil matter; murder is a criminal matter! Let’s keep ICE out of our neighborhoods.

Author: Sobeida Rosa, LSU Communications Fellow