Solidarity Lancaster

Here in Lancaster, The Refugee Capital of the World, we welcome our refugee and immigrant neighbors with open arms. Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling regarding TPS puts hundreds, if not thousands, of our neighbors in Lancaster County at risk of deportation. These refugees have left dangerous conditions in their home countries with a hope for a better life.

This administration and its handpicked Supreme Court’s attempts to punish people simply for wanting to survive is counter to everything we believe as Americans. Temporary Protected Status gives refuge to people trying to escape extreme poverty and the violence of war in order to build a better life for themselves here. As Lancastrians, we know well how much our refugee neighbors enrich our community.

While we are saddened by this ruling, we will continue to do what we can to protect and support our community. Our Syrian and Haitian neighbors deserve to be able to live their lives in dignity, peace, and welcome. Please look out for mutual aid requests from us and others to support our neighbors as they navigate this arbitrary change to their status.

This ruling promises to further fracture our community by tasking our local law enforcement who have signed on to collaborate with ICE through 287(g) agreements with targeting the immigrants who will lose their legal status through no fault of their own. Our local police should not be tasked with deporting our neighbors who have built lives in our community due to federal decisions to revoke status arbitrarily from people who have lived here legally for years. It breeds distrust and fear between neighbors, which makes our communities less safe.

Arrests in Lancaster through the 287(g) program are rising, but they do not make our communities safer. Non-criminal immigrants are being targeted at a higher rate than ever before in Lancaster. This is not who we are. We urge all local law enforcement agencies to end collaboration with ICE through 287(g).

ICE’s tactics are changing. They are shifting from large scale raids and increasingly utilizing local police departments through 287(g) agreements to do their dirty work. That is why we must continue to push for law enforcement agencies in Lancaster County to not sign on to new agreements and drop the ones they currently have.

Join us this Saturday, June 13th from 1-3pm at Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster to learn more about the local campaign against 287(g) agreements. We will discuss the campaign so far, review recent new developments and data, and prepare for next steps.

Sign up link in comments.

Join us June 13th from 1-3pm at Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster as we review what has happened so far with the 287(g) agreements in Lancaster, analyze new developments, and discuss how we’ll push back.

Back in February Solidarity Lancaster and Mennonite Action held a townhall with 250 people to discuss the impact that the 287(g) agreement has in Lancaster. The next week, 100 people crowded into the Lancaster County Prison Board Meeting to voice their concerns and drop off a petition with 2700 signatures calling for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office to drop their 287(g) agreement with ICE. Members of the community also voiced their concerns to District Attorney Heather Adams and her office’s 287(g) agreement.

Despite the Sheriff and DA’s claims that nothing has changed since they signed these agreements, we’ve learned:
• ICE proposed a “surge” in October of 2025 in Lancaster.
• Detainments have skyrocketed through the 287(g) program in Lancaster County.
• The DA is participating in the problematic “wellness” program that potentially puts unaccompanied minors and their caretakers at risk.
• ICE is now funneling tens of thousands of our tax dollars towards our police departments to do immigration enforcement instead of keeping our communities safe.

With these new developments we are ready to take our next steps in this campaign.

For more information, visit the link in the comments!

Democrats in Mount Joy object to councilman's comments on 'signs of fascism' protests A group of local Democrats is up in arms over a Mount Joy Borough councilman’s criticism of protests the group has been holding in recent months that challenge neighbors to

In February we showed up to the Lancaster County Prison Board meeting with over 100 people and 2,700 petition signatures to demand that Sheriff Leppler rescind his Department’s 287(g) agreement with ICE. Today, he announced his resignation from Office.

After presenting our petition, community members attended Prison Board Meetings in March and April, ready to ask our Sheriff to end 287(g) in Lancaster. He was not present at these meetings.

We wish Sheriff Leppler had continued his term and used his remaining time in office to do the right thing and end County collaboration with ICE. The voters will not have an opportunity to elect a new Sheriff until 2027. In the meantime, Chief Deputy Marc Shaffer will serve as interim sheriff.

We call on Chief Deputy Shaffer to put an immediate end to local collaboration with ICE upon taking office. 287(g) agreements erode community trust, waste local taxpayer’s resources, and lead to racial profiling and civil rights lawsuits. Do right by the people of Lancaster County and rescind the 287(g) agreement on July 10th.

Thank you to Gina and the many Lancastrians who have stepped outside of their comfort zones to say NO to 287(g) agreements. This moment requires us to do what we know is right. It is not always easy, comfortable, or without risk. But it is who we are.

"Stepping far outside my comfort zone, I reached out to our local police chief for a face-to-face meeting. I walked into the station with my fledgling understanding of the agreement and sweaty palms," Gina Burkhart, a Mennonite pastor and self-ascribed "reluctant activist," shares. When she learned about 287(g) agreements that enable state, county, and local law enforcement agencies to make immigration arrests and serve on ICE task forces, she decided to act. After meeting with her local police chief, she spoke at a press conference (pictured here), "...emphasizing that as a follower of Jesus I want to be a voice for those who are marginalized. 287(g) agreements create a great risk that our immigrant neighbors could be unjustly targeted and threatened. I want to affirm their rights and their value in our community."

To learn more about 287(g) agreements and what you can do about them, check out our backgrounder here: docs.google.com/document/d/1tgbCWtOGpJLmxpcmi-H1MNcQ8k3wlnkoMErFWPw_lTM/edit?usp=sharing

We have been seeing more need for community support for neighbors and family taken by ICE. Thank you Ric's Bread for getting the word out. Please donate to help Carlos and his family.

Donate to Urgent need for young family affected by ICE and deportation, organized by Esther M Carlos, a family member of ours, is a father and the main financ… Esther M needs your support for Urgent need for young family affected by ICE and deportation

Today at 1pm!

Following the recent news of proposed ICE surges in Lancaster County, we feel an urgent need to prepare our community for potential encounters with ICE.

We saw what worked in Minneapolis. Mass participation in rapid response networks, legal observance, and mutual aid were key to defending the city during Operation Metro Surge. People, organizations, and businesses across Lancaster have been building networks of Solidarity that are already being used to defend our neighbors. But we currently lack a large-scale ICE watch network that can contribute to broader community defense networks.

We hope that this training will provide our community with the structure and knowledge to perform ICE watch now, and to scale up our efforts if the need arises.

Join us May 2nd from 1-3pm at Landisville Mennonite Church (3320 Bowman Rd., Landisville, PA) to learn how you can be a part of ongoing ICE watch efforts in the County.

Register using the link in the comments.

Happy May Day!

This May Day we are using our economic power to show the billionaires and oligarchs who really makes the country run. As part of a national day of action, we encourage people to be involved however they can. This is an opportunity to flex our economic muscle on a national scale.

NO SCHOOL
NO WORK
NO SHOPPING

Today, let’s celebrate the workers that have fought for a better life by joining that struggle.