Residents urge York City to curb ICE activity and report racial profiling

Residents used the March 3 York City Council public-comment period to urge local action limiting immigration-enforcement practices and to describe alleged discriminatory stops.

Alyssa Jackson told the council she has attended multiple meetings "to speak about the safety of the residents of York City" and said, "ICE cannot be allowed to terrorize the citizens of York." Jackson urged the city to "stop ICE from having free reign," saying the community "is more afraid every day." (Alyssa Jackson)

Fabiola Mesa recounted an incident she described from June 2025 in which she said her father and three coworkers were stopped in the West York area by agents she identified as ICE. Mesa said she spent five to six hours at an immigration facility afterward and described what she called profiling of Hispanic residents: "They were ICE agents disguised…they gave me no explanation other than they were at a suspicious home," she said. Mesa asked the council for tangible steps to reduce such policing practices in the city. (Fabiola Mesa)

Evangeline Morris, a junior at William Penn High School who participated in a Feb. 5 peaceful protest, said the demonstration "became bigger than immigration enforcement" and stressed unity: "These are our neighbors, and these are our friends, and these are our family….We are the change." Morris described students facing hostile reactions from some adults and hurtful online comments and urged respectful engagement. (Evangeline Morris)

Why it matters: Speakers tied the complaints to community safety and civil-rights concerns. Council members acknowledged the testimony during the meeting's comment-response period and thanked speakers for returning to speak repeatedly.

What the council said: Councilmembers thanked the speakers for bringing concerns to the body but did not announce specific local-policy changes at the meeting. The public-comment period ended before the council moved into legislative business.

Next steps: The comments were entered into the meeting record. Any formal policy or ordinance response would require future agenda placement and council action.