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Philadelphia’s threat to prosecute ICE could trigger landmark court fight over authority, experts warn
Fox News ^ | 1/17/26 | Charles Creitz

Posted on 01/17/2026 6:42:40 AM PST by Libloather

The Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and legal scholars laid out what could happen if Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner follows through on his promise to prosecute ICE in the line of their duty, should operations in Pennsylvania reach a flashpoint.

Last week, Krasner warned he would prosecute agents who "come to Philly to commit crimes" in an apparent reference to allegations an agent acted unlawfully in shooting a Minnesota woman who appeared to intentionally hit him with her car while disrupting an operation.

Philadelphia County Sheriff Rochelle Bilal doubled down, calling ICE officers "fake, wannabe law enforcement" and warned them they "don’t want this smoke ‘cause we will bring it to you."

Krasner argued President Donald Trump could not pardon arrested agents because any cases would be brought at the state level, leading Fox News Digital to ask officials and experts to weigh in on what the true case may be.

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, the chair of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties at Ohio State’s college of law, and an expert in immigration and criminal law that is at nexus in this case, said interfering with federal law enforcement carrying out their job duties is just as much of a crime as killing someone without legal justification.

"Immigration agents are permitted to enforce federal immigration laws within any community in the United States, including Philadelphia, but local police officers there are equally authorized to investigate anyone who they suspect of having committed a violent crime."

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Conspiracy; Education; History
KEYWORDS: authority; experts; ice; interference; obstruction; philadelphia; rebellion; sabotage

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XL cuffs for Rochelle.
1 posted on 01/17/2026 6:42:41 AM PST by Libloather
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To: Libloather

Rochelle? Another friggin’ tranny posing as a LEO. Kick her in the ass.


2 posted on 01/17/2026 6:44:31 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer (The DNC far-left turd worlders have "ICE Watch". What happened to "FBI Watch" and "CIA Watch"?)
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To: Libloather

The mayor, the DA, and the county sheriff are all wanting to be arrested by Trump.


3 posted on 01/17/2026 6:45:59 AM PST by Tom Tetroxide (Psalm 146:3 "Do not trust in princes, in the Son of Man, who has no salvation.")
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To: Libloather

Screw the courts.


4 posted on 01/17/2026 6:48:06 AM PST by ComputerGuy
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To: Libloather

Trump & Co will welcome this “fight”, and squash them like the mosquitoes they are.


5 posted on 01/17/2026 6:48:46 AM PST by Eccl 10:2 (Prov 3:5 --- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding")
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To: Libloather

I fail to see how this is “landmark” anything, after In Re Neagle and the ruling that states could not prosecute Lon Horuichi for his outright murder of an unarmed mother and her infant due to sovereign immunity.


6 posted on 01/17/2026 6:52:01 AM PST by vikingd00d (chown -R us ~you/base)
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To: vikingd00d

Engage these insurrectionist degenerate losers. All bets are off. Arrest them on interference and insurrection. Give them a dose of find out.


7 posted on 01/17/2026 6:57:23 AM PST by hal ogen (First Amendment or Reeducation Camp?)
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To: Libloather

“….but local police officers there are equally authorized to investigate anyone who they suspect of having committed a violent crime.”

The same can be said for presidents….

Trumps gotta start bringing the hammer down on these lying miscreants. They are going to go as far as they want to getting their way. I’d tell those sons of bitch mayors, governors and sheriffs outright that if they laid one finger on any ICE doing his job under ANY circumstance THEY THEMSELVES WILL BE DRAGGED OUT OF THER OFFICES AND ARRESTED and the guard brought in. This shit has got to stop!


8 posted on 01/17/2026 6:59:23 AM PST by TalBlack (Their god is government. Prepare for a religious war.https://freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=4322961%2)
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To: Libloather

invocation of the Insurrection Act would be better ...


9 posted on 01/17/2026 7:01:13 AM PST by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: catnipman
invocation of the Insurrection Act would be better ...

Yep. These states and their worthless, brainwashed populations are in open rebellion against the Union. It’s that simple. They refuse to acknowledge or comply with federal authority. For all of us who have been expecting CWII soon, it’s here, but it’s effectively been declared by the other side.

10 posted on 01/17/2026 7:09:13 AM PST by noiseman (The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.)
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To: Libloather

Let me guess, they didn’t prosecute people in the city during the fiery, but mostly peaceful looting, violence, assaults in years past. That was (d)ifferent.


11 posted on 01/17/2026 7:14:36 AM PST by matt04 ( )
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To: Tom Tetroxide
The mayor, the DA, and the county sheriff are all wanting to be arrested by Trump.

Yeah, the law is pretty clear that obstruction is a felony.

12 posted on 01/17/2026 7:23:14 AM PST by T.B. Yoits
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To: Libloather

Military occupation of Philly long overdue, and not just for this one case. Or this one issue.


13 posted on 01/17/2026 7:29:35 AM PST by Salman (Trump is good, but we need Pinochet. )
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To: Libloather

All these governors, mayors, police chiefs/commissioners and sheriffs spewing this crap remind of Generals depicted in Civil War battle movies where they command the battles - from a comfortable distance of course . . .


14 posted on 01/17/2026 7:46:25 AM PST by MCSETots
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To: Libloather
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of the Trump DOJ had this response for Krasner:

Go ahead and try 🤡

15 posted on 01/17/2026 7:53:59 AM PST by Bon of Babble (You Say You Want a Revolution?)
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To: Libloather

SCOTUS should just issue a statement that this is a Supremacy clause issue. Any challenge to that will threaten the establishment of the US Const.

Wanna go that route? OK, but there will be consequences.


16 posted on 01/17/2026 7:54:40 AM PST by bobbo666
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To: vikingd00d

Sometimes I think I’m the only one who remembers that case.

L


17 posted on 01/17/2026 8:00:17 AM PST by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.s)
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To: Libloather

Rhetoric and Reality Collide: Philadelphia Officials Signal Tough Stance on ICE
By AI Chat
January 17, 2026

Philadelphia — In the wake of a deadly ICE enforcement operation in Minneapolis, local leaders in Philadelphia have stepped onto the national stage with language both dramatic and calculated. District Attorney Larry Krasner warned last week that he would prosecute federal immigration agents who “come to Philly to commit crimes,” while Philadelphia County Sheriff Rochelle Bilal called ICE officers “fake, wannabe law enforcement,” signaling to the public a hard line against federal presence.

Observers note the carefully balanced nature of these statements: while both officials stop short of directing or encouraging illegal activity, their words carry the unmistakable effect of energizing protest groups. Legal experts stress that federal agents acting within the scope of their duties enjoy broad constitutional protections under the Supremacy Clause, limiting the practical enforceability of such threats. In other words, while the rhetoric is bold, the legal reality is far narrower.

Yet the political effect is undeniable. By framing their position in stark terms, Krasner and Bilal reassure protesters that local authorities stand in solidarity with their concerns, creating the perception — whether accurate or not — that federal agents can be challenged without consequence. The rhetoric acts as both a shield and a signal: energizing the base while remaining firmly within legal bounds.

The Minneapolis incident that sparked the controversy involved an ICE agent’s shooting of a woman during an operation, a case now under federal investigation and subject to court oversight. Philadelphia officials are leveraging public outrage to assert moral authority, while navigating the constitutional limits that prevent direct obstruction of federal duties.

In essence, this is political theater at its most calculated: a performance meant to galvanize and reassure the public while keeping the officials themselves insulated from legal risk. Protesters may leave the speeches feeling emboldened; the law, however, remains an unyielding arbiter, unlikely to bend to perception alone.


18 posted on 01/17/2026 8:03:09 AM PST by CIB-173RDABN
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To: Libloather

They are violating federal law.
PA really has no say in it.


19 posted on 01/17/2026 8:32:10 AM PST by Zathras
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To: FlingWingFlyer
She is a glorified meter maid. The Sheriff in Philly is a bureaucratic position.

When Bilal says, “ICE is fake law enforcement,” she might also add that the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department is a bureaucratic paper tiger with zero police power except when it comes to sheriff sales for tax delinquent properties.

Bilal and Krasner try to re-write the facts
20 posted on 01/17/2026 8:37:57 AM PST by Kid Shelleen (Beat your plowshares into swords. Let the weak say I am strong)
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