A Pennsylvania county official on Tuesday called for the eviction of ICE officers from county-owned space, alleging the federal government has not paid rent for more than three years and does not have a valid lease.
Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley demanded the immediate payment of more than $115,000 in unpaid rent and nearly $8,000 in late fees, a termination of all negotiations with the Department of Homeland Security, the eviction of federal immigration enforcement agencies from county property, and accountability for county officials who knowingly allowed the arrangement to go on for years without doing something about it.
“We found that they haven’t been paying for nearly three years and they’ve been occupying space,” Pinsley, a Democrat who is running for Congress, said. He added that due to the civil and political unrest in Minneapolis and other cities across the country, he believes the county should stop “housing or helping them in any form or fashion.”
Pinsley, who is in his second term as county controller, said DHS and ICE illegally occupied the space for 38 months, and that taxpayers absorbed utilities, maintenance, and other operational costs.
Lehigh County is home to about 347,557 Pennsylvanians. Its county seat is Allentown, the state’s third-largest city, following Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
“I think the county should be unequivocal and tell ICE: pay your bills, pack your s***, and get the hell out,” he added. The inquiry into ICE and DHS was initiated after a complaint was filed with Lehigh County’s Controller’s office. The complaint also questioned DHS’s use of the space and why the agency was there in the first place.
The review identified issues that the controller’s office deemed credible and significant, prompting a recommendation for immediate action by the county executive and further review by county leadership.
During a press conference, Pinsley said he felt a “growing sense of alarm and sadness” while watching ICE carry out raids in Minneapolis.
“As Lehigh County controller, I have watched Minneapolis but worry about Lehigh Valley. There were no pepper balls flying across Hamilton Street on my way to work today, but that’s no guarantee that there won’t be tomorrow,” he said. “We can give them a taste of their own medicine. We’re going to deport ICE.”
Pinsley said that Homeland Security Investigations entered into an agreement with the county in 2022 to lease office space inside the Hamilton Financial Center building in Allentown. The deal was that the contract was supposed to be for 10 months, and then the federal government would enter into a three-year lease. However, the federal government now claims that the HSI’s Special Agent in Charge at the time the memorandum of agreement was signed lacked the authority to do so. He also left the lease unsigned.
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Pinsley said continuing to allow HSI and ICE to use the space could create “public perception risk that the County is enabling ICE,” and could be “creating the impression that County government is not standing with working families or protecting community stability.”
DHS did not respond to an email for comment.
