ALLENTOWN, Pa. — What began as a routine court date ended in heartbreak for Elizabeth DeJesus.
DeJesus stood outside the Lehigh County Courthouse on June 24 and watched as two plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, she said, detained her husband, Darwin Contreras Rodriguez, without identifying themselves or presenting a warrant.
“They didn’t tell me where they were taking him,” DeJesus said during public comment at the Lehigh County commissioners meeting Wednesday night. “I wasn’t even able to say goodbye.”
She said she didn’t learn where her husband had been taken until 5 p.m. that evening.
Rodriguez, 27, is a longtime Lehigh Valley resident who immigrated to the United States from El Salvador at the age of 7. He attended Freedom High School and had recently entered the court’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program following a nonviolent DUI charge.
The program is intended to give first-time, nonviolent offenders a chance to have their records expunged. He is now in federal custody, separated from DeJesus and his daughter.
“He was contributing to being an American citizen,” DeJesus said. “He just wanted to be a worker and have a family.”
Her story was one of many shared at the commissioners meeting, where dozens of residents and activists spoke out against what they described as a pattern of aggressive and covert ICE enforcement, enabled by the Lehigh County Sheriff’s Office and courthouse procedures.
Accusations of collusion, denial of due process
DeJesus said a sheriff’s deputy opened a door that allowed ICE agents to access her husband. Several speakers echoed that concern, alleging that masked agents without identification have been operating in the courthouse without producing warrants.
Lehigh County Sheriff Joseph Hanna denied any involvement in a letter read during the meeting.
“The Lehigh County Sheriff’s Office does not aid or assist in operations carried out by ICE,” the letter read.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment.
In June, hundreds protested in Bethlehem after 17 people were arrested during an ICE worksite raid. Authorities said the individuals were detained for alleged immigration violations while working for a restoration contractor at Five10 Flats.
County policy prohibits the jail from honoring ICE agents without a judicial warrant. However, courthouse access is governed separately, and activists are urging officials to reexamine those policies.
‘I’m tired of being angry’
At the board of commissioners meeting on Wednesday, Josie Lopez, a Salisbury Township resident and member of the Lehigh Valley Emergency Response Network, said her group has responded to near-daily alerts of ICE activity in recent weeks — most of them at the courthouse.
“I came here tonight to another meeting with grief,” Lopez said. “I’m tired of being angry, and honestly, I’m exhausted. For three weeks straight, I’ve been going to every alert, and the ones that are verified are at the courthouse.”
She said her team witnessed two men following an individual inside the courthouse on Tuesday in what appeared to be an attempted ICE detention. After warning the man, they began loudly demanding that the agents identify themselves.
The men eventually left without producing any credentials or warrants. There was no confirmation on whether the individuals were legitimate ICE agents.
“These families continue to be ripped apart,” Lopez said. “People are being stolen from our communities, and it’s only going to get worse.”
‘We are all immigrants’
Amber Clark, an Allentown resident and retired Marine, said she served in the military to defend the Constitution — only to see those rights violated at home.
“I speak not just as a resident, but as someone who believes in the rule of law and dignity of every person,” Clark said. “Let’s face it: We are all immigrants on stolen land.”
Clark criticized ICE enforcement as unconstitutional and unjust, and questioned the county’s moral compass.
“It honestly makes me sick and makes me wonder why I did it,” she said of her service. “I gave up four years of my life defending our Constitution for the very people who are kidnapping our brothers and sisters off the street.”
Bethlehem resident Michele Downing shared the story of a friend’s relative who died in ICE custody after traveling to Philadelphia to replace a lost green card.
“He never had so much as a parking ticket,” she said. “This can’t continue.”
‘A literal trap’
Gwen Dietrich, another speaker, accused local officials of enabling ICE operations through courthouse access.
“Why are we leading people into a literal trap?” she asked. “Why are there ICE agents in the courthouse? I’m really disgusted with what’s being allowed to happen.”
Commissioners acknowledged the concerns but noted that they are limited in what they can do regarding federal enforcement. Board Chair Geoff Brace said the county would review courthouse procedures and examine the allegations raised during the meeting.
For DeJesus and others, the fear and uncertainty remain.
“In the jail itself,” she said, “officers make fun of him. It’s absolutely insane that this is OK.”
