Pennsylvania judge upholds a sheriff’s ICE cooperation agreement

A Pennsylvania judge upheld Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran’s authority to cooperate with federal immigration authorities on Wednesday, dismissing an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that sought to block his participation in a federal enforcement program.

Judge Jeffrey Trauger of the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County ruled that the ACLU’s plaintiffs lacked standing and failed to show any concrete harm from the sheriff’s 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The court found the claims were based on “subjective fears of possible future incidents,” noting that one plaintiff “alleges no actual incidents where he or others he knows were a victim of any of these unlawful events.”