Two House Democratic lawmakers are drafting separate bills to put guardrails on actions by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Pennsylvania.

The memos seeking co-sponsors for the proposed legislation were filed last week, one day after the shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis by an ICE agent.

Good’s death has led to demonstrations across the nation protesting ICE enforcement actions against illegal immigration.

The bills from members of the majority caucus address using state appropriations to support ICE enforcement and setting rules for ICE agents at courthouses and state-owned property.

Rep. Chris Pielli, D-Chester, proposed restricting local law enforcement agencies from using state appropriations to enforce federal immigration laws.

Pielli said the bill would support a policy enacted by state police in 2019 to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Pielli’s bill takes aim at partnerships known as 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement agencies and the federal government.

The partnerships do more harm than good to their communities and are counterproductive to keeping communities safe, Pielli said.

“We believe that all local law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania should focus on their community’s issues first,” he wrote.

Courthouse activity

Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, proposed requiring ICE agents performing a civil arrest on courthouse grounds, while in transit to a hearing and on state property, to clearly identify themselves and produce a signed judicial warrant.

Her bill provides that warrantless arrests made on those locations would result in contempt proceedings or civil liabilities for arresting officers.

“As we’ve seen in recent months and learned definitively on Jan. 7, there must be guardrails to protect Pennsylvania residents’ rights as it concerns these federally deployed agents,” Kinkead wrote.

Armed and masked federal agents have turned courthouses and nearby parking lots into “ambush sites,” Kinkead wrote.

She wrote the ICE tactics prevent individuals from accessing due process while making survivors and witnesses to domestic violence and sexual assault too afraid to show up in court.

Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, D-Montgomery, of the minority caucus, filed a cosponsor memo Monday for a proposed bill to prevent civil immigration arrests inside or within 1,000 feet of state facilities unless supported by a judicial warrant or judicial order.