Our social studies teacher turned county executive has failed the federal test on sanctuary cities. He's now complaining that Lehigh County shouldn't be on the Fed study hall detention list, because we're not a full blown sanctuary conspirator. Although we don't cooperate fully with ICE, we thought we cooperated enough.
Apparently, ICE and the Trump administration see it differently than Lehigh's Armstrong and Northampton's McClure. They both thought that they could play it both ways, not cooperate, but not actively interfere. I witnessed a Lehigh County commissioner encourage Allentown City Council to adopt the Welcoming City ordinance, in which a city does not collaborate with ICE.
The fly in their ointment is that the Trump administration controls the funding that bleeding hearts depend upon. They will now complain about MAGA, and have their legal departments spin their wheels in reverse, hoping to get back to the starting line.
ADDENDUM: The Department of Homeland Security has removed the list of sanctuary locales from its website, responding to pushback from the Association of Sheriffs.
"Apparently, ICE and the Trump administration see it differently than Lehigh's Armstrong and Northampton's McClure. They both thought that they could play it both ways, not cooperate, but not actively interfere."
ReplyDeleteDoesn't that sum up the whole democrat approach to the border? Don't actually say where you stand, so you (hopefully) don't get pinned down by the voters.
If McClure or Armstrong were actually concerned about illegal immigration, instead of complaining they'd be talking with ICE about what they can do to help them. But they're not, so they try to shift the discussion to something else.
For those that don't think we have a problem, the terrorist who threw Molotov cocktails at his victims yesterday in Boulder Colorado was in this country illegally. During the previous administration, hundreds of thousands of people were allowed to come into our country without any kind of vetting.
So we do have a problem. It's just that very few of our local politicians seem to want to solve it.
Allentown has been a sanctuary city since the days of Joe Daddona. I think he called it, "A refuge city" he was ahead of the times. It is obvious that the current leadership will try to do all they can to keep and encourage more illegal immigration and of course the Trump administration will be the meanies.
ReplyDeleteIt was Daddona and his policies of bringing in the welfare class to the city that started the slide of Allentown from being an "All America City" into the ash heap.
DeleteBoth Mayor Turek and Ed Zucal want illegal ailens to live in Allentown also.
ReplyDeleteIllegal Ailens have no right to simply be IN the United States. They have no rights to ANYTHING, including all government services, inclusing health care and government education, which means no right to have their children in the Allentown School District.
What other laws don't they want to enforce?
It appers the Association of Sheriffs does not want the list of their officers in "sanctuary cities" who are deciding which laws they want to enforce, and which ones they do not.
I was unaware that law enforcment has the right to only enforce laws they agree with.
Warden ICE, I am responsible for my inmates and we must let the good good pass on criminal invasion of our good good actors. A crime is only a crime if I say it's a crime and than I must put it in a complaint otherwise you get to pass go and collect two hundred bucks.
DeleteA huge justification for the Democrat-led policy of wide open borders is to cultivate new voters to that political party. Make them liberal government dependent and they’ll keep coming back for food.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason is to elevate the population totals in certain voting districts in order to be awarded additional Congressional seats, filled by Democrats, of course.
Creating population chaos is one way to overthrow one government and replace it with another form of government.
For America to survive for its children, this illegal invader situation must be eliminated with full cooperation by ALL legal citizens, Democrat and Republican. Complicit politicians must not be tolerated, but condemned and quickly voted out as soon as possible.
Apparantley the only way to remove the illegal ailens is for the federal government to stop giving money to cities and counties. All of them, including Lehigh and Northampton Counties, as well as Allentown have their hands out for federal dollars.
DeleteFaced with having to govern on the money they collect from the taxpayers and from Harrisburg will force them to either reduce their spending, as they won't be getting the Federal dollars any longer (are you listening ASD?) or let ICE remove the illegals from our nation.
I'm sure the cries of racism by Orange Man will be loud and shrill
I would never, ever vote for a retired school teacher for dogcatcher. I had no idea this double dipper was out on a public school teacher pension.
ReplyDeleteanon@6:59: That Daddona story is an often told myth. Much of eastern Pennsylvania(Reading, Lancaster, York) had the same demographic shifts, without Daddona.
ReplyDeleteanon@7:39: I sincerely doubt that many illegals immigrants register to vote.
anon@9:49: neither current county executive is running for re-election as such. However, I'd take a retired teacher anyday over a straight from college politician who never had another job.
Two comments:
ReplyDelete1). Brett Moll once again alleges that Ed Zucal wants illegal aliens to live in Allentown. I am aware of no such statement or published position from Zucal. So I take issue with it.
2). Yes, neither of the current county executives are running for re-election. That still shouldn’t preclude them from being held responsible for their policies. One current executive has already announced that he’s running for Congress.
Ilegal immigration should be an issue in EVERY race from Congress to county executive to school board. Voters should know EXACTLY where the candidates stand on enforcing the law and removing criminal illegals from our community.
I watched the debate between Mayor Turek and Mr Zucal at Symphony Hall, that was recorded and uploaded on You Tube. During that debate Mr Zucal stated he had advised the ASD not to let ICE agents into the classrooms of the ASD to effect removal of the illegals for subsequent deportation.
DeleteAfter watching that, I went to Zucal's facebook page and asked him if he supported the deportation of Illegal Ailens. Mr Zucal repeated that he did not want ICE going into the ASD classrooms.
This is one of the issues that it's a binary choice. Illegal Ailens are subject to summary removal and deportation from the United States. There isn't any exceptions to the law. They aren't here under any type of immigration visa, they entered the US illegally. Period, full stop.
Either you support the presence of Illegal Ailens in the United States or you do not. If a politican waffles or says the schools should shield them from law enforcement, then its clear they support their illegal presence in the United States.
Pawlowski was the same way. I asked him a number of years ago about the city providing immigration attorneys at no cost. Do you support Illegal Ailens in Allentown? I got political jibberish back as a response. The same kind that Zucal stated when I asked him the same thing.
You can find my posting on Mr Zucal's facebook page. You can also go to You Tube and find the debate recording there. I advise you to do so so you can be aware of what was said and what I posted.
There is ZERO, justification, or need, for federal authorities to enter a classroom.
Deleteanon@11:18: Allentown's Welcome City passed unanimously, so I assume that's Moll's gripe with Zucal. However, it only passed after some amendments to water it down. A "no" vote by Zucal would not have mattered, but would have hurt. his position for the primary. There are Dems who assume that Zucal is too far right for them, him having been a policeman.
ReplyDeleteIn very blue Democratic Allentown, anti- immigration will not be an issue embraced by any candidate. I suspect that in purple Lehigh County it will also be avoided.
Brent@11:55: I assume that you know that in addition to being a former Allentown police officer, Zucal is currently a school security guard at an elementary school. I think that ICE officers going into an elementary school might be traumatic to students, and probably much more drama than necessary.
ReplyDeleteI do understand the sensitivity issue with young children.
DeleteIt is indeed unfortunate that today the ASD has police officers in the schools. Not only in the high schools, but also in the middle and elementary schools. That would have been unthinkable in the iidyllic Allentown of the 1960s which I grew up in, but the 2025 Allentown things are clearly different.
I can also imagine being an elementary school student in 1997 when the ASD first started putting police in the schools, likely as a reaction to Columbine and the change of social conditons in the city. That must have been a traumatic moment also seeing an armed policeman in your elementary school. That was over a quarter-century ago however and the students are now likely used to seeing the armed guards in their schools as part of the normal school environment. Even Kindergardeners leaving home for the first time to attend school. That desensitization also happened a long time ago as well.
The solution here is pretty clear. The school district administration needs to comply with the law.
No one wants traumatic scenes where 7 or 8 year old illegal ailen children are dragged out of the classroom in handcuffs crying and screaming by ICE oficers. This can be done tactfully with the cooperation of the ASD administrators.
Do the security guards at William Allen ever arrest gang members in the classrooms? I've seen class changes at Allent today where it looks like the police are herding the students between buildings. Even that to me looks unthinkably drastic compared to what it was in 1972 when would go from one building to another at Allen. I know, that was generations ago and times have changed.
However as the Trump administration has said, for now, the only forced deportations of illegal ailens are ones who are gang members or convicted felons, none of this is going to happen. And I doubt we will see ICE agents knocking on schoolhouse doors to drag children out of classrooms anytime soon as well.
However, stating that he wants to give illegal ailen children sanctuary in the schools gives bad optics to his candidacy, allthough again, that was the democratic primary and he was focusing on getting democratic votes to support him.
Also in deeply-democratic Allentown, where a member of either the School Board or perhaps even the Mayor himself my want to make a political spectacle with television cameras by standing in the schoolhouse door to keep ICE out of the schools , we know it also isn't going to happen unless politics change in the city happens as well.
Looks like there has been a terrorist attack in Boulder, Allentown’s Sister City.
ReplyDeleteBrent - I’m probably to the right of you as far as immigration goes, but I don’t think ICE agents in a classroom is appropriate unless they’re going after older teen gang members and there’s a clear and immediate danger to other students.
ReplyDeleteAbsent that, I think there would be numerous safety concerns and disruptions for other students if ICE started using classrooms as a regular place to make arrests. I surely wouldn’t want younger, grade school kids getting pulled out of classrooms and not knowing what’s going on.
That said, I do believe that the school district could and should be sharing citizenship data with ICE, and ICE can pick up those their looking for at a location other than the schools.
Allentown middle schools all have students who are gang members. Been that way for years. But, I don’t see kids that age being targeted in public especially not while in a classroom. The police aren’t that insensitive, I’m sure. Former teacher here.
ReplyDelete@6:28
DeleteThe APD isn’t a federal agency.
Well, I guess you chose not to post it for some quirky reason but I repeat: it's no wonder the Lehigh Valley is going to hell in a handbasket.
ReplyDeleteBethlehem is (almost) holding its own.,Easton is doing fantastic.
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