EAST WHITELAND TWP, PA — State Rep. Kristine Howard said an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest in East Whiteland Township on Friday, January 23, 2026, has intensified concerns in her district about what she described as “heavy-handed” enforcement tactics carried out by masked or unidentified officers and unmarked vehicles.
In a statement, Howard said ICE agents arrested a man in the 167th Legislative District and led him away in unmarked vehicles as residents watched and objected. She said the encounter was recorded and confronted by community members, but that officers “largely ignored” those concerns.
Howard said she believes the visibility and frequency of such encounters risk becoming normalized, arguing that ICE’s current practices are not “standard operating procedure” and should not be treated as routine.
Citing 8 U.S. Code § 1357, which outlines immigration officers’ powers, Howard urged Congress to reform the statute to curtail what she called ICE’s authority to make arrests without a warrant, saying the power is being used in ways “surely not intended” when the law was enacted decades ago.
Howard also said she opposes ICE operating in her district and called on Congress to continue opposing federal funding for the agency, adding that she represents district residents “regardless of presumed immigration status.”
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