Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio is calling for answers and more transparency about what happened in Ambridge last month when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took people into custody.
A cell phone video from July 31 in Ambridge, a borough Deluzio represents, captured a masked federal immigration officer detaining a man as bystanders ask questions and voice their views. Deluzio said he and his office have posed basic questions to ICE for weeks regarding this and other operations in the Pittsburgh region, and they have not yet received answers.
“Traditionally, when a member of Congress asks a federal law enforcement agency for basic information, we expect an answer, and that’s what should be happening here,” Deluzio said on Friday.
On Tuesday, he escalated his inquiries with a letter to ICE acting director Todd Lyons. Deluzio opened it, saying, “Your agency’s Office of Congressional Relations provided a pathetic, inadequate, and unacceptable response to my office’s inquiries about recent ICE activity in Ambridge. … This will not fly with me.”
He said ICE responded by saying, “We’re not tracking any information specific [to] non-routine operations in Robinson Township, PA; Carnegie, PA; or Ambridge, PA…”
In continued correspondence, Deluzio went on to list nine questions on topics like the number of people detained and their status.
“You see Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible issue press releases and give public information about what his office is doing. You see information from our local departments. What I see out of ICE right now is not transparency, and why my letter was so blunt and direct,” Deluzio told KDKA.
Bible told KDKA that the Ambridge Police Department, with assistance from county agencies, conducted a “saturation operation” on July 31 that “was in no way an ‘ICE RAID'” but ICE agents were present. He said out of 70 traffic stops, 20 were undocumented immigrants, and out of those 20, ICE detained 12 who had criminal records or outstanding warrants or pending criminal charges. Eight undocumented immigrants were let go. Bible said he is aware of at least one bystander cited for disorderly conduct.
While Bible told KDKA that he hasn’t tried to speak to ICE and received this information from police, Deluzio said in his congressional oversight role, he should have received these kinds of details and more from the agency. Deluzio said he will push for accountability.
“The committees in the House and the Senate have the power to call witnesses to issue subpoenas. I need the Republican majority, frankly, to work with Democrats to do that,” Deluzio said.
Deluzio is asking for responses to his questions from ICE by Aug. 15. KDKA reached out to ICE for comment on Friday evening but has not heard back.
