Bucks County Sheriff Danny Ceisler terminated the county’s 287G agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on January 14, 2026, ending a program that would have allowed deputies to act as federal immigration agents.
At a Glance
- Ceisler signed the termination order eight days after taking office, reversing a plan launched by predecessor Fred Harran.
- No immigrants had been detained under the short-lived partnership.
- The decision affects more than 50,000 immigrants living in Bucks County.
- Why it matters: Community leaders reported immigrants stopped calling 911 for fear deputies would check their status.
Ceisler, flanked by county officials outside the Justice Center in Doylestown, said the program’s risks outweighed any public-safety gain. “After careful evaluation, I have determined that the certain public safety costs of this ICE partnership are greatly outweighed by any potential public safety benefits,” he said.
From Campaign Promise to Policy
The 287G program, created during the Clinton administration, gained renewed traction under President Trump’s second term as part of a push to deport over one million people annually. It allows local officers to stop, question, and detain anyone suspected of lacking legal status.
Former Republican Sheriff Fred Harran announced the county’s intent to join the program in April 2025, calling it a “common-sense initiative.” Sixteen deputies received specialized training, though the task force never made an arrest.
Harran defended the plan on News Of Philadelphia‘s @Issue and Battleground Politics, insisting deputies would target only people already charged with crimes. “What is so bad about making the arrests, which we do now, but now, afterwards, ship them out so they can’t commit crimes tomorrow?” he asked.
Court Battle and Election Fallout
The ACLU of Pennsylvania, Make the Road Pennsylvania, NAACP Bucks County, and the BuxMont Unitarian Universalists sued Harran in September 2025, arguing county commissioners-not the sheriff-had authority to approve the agreement. Bucks County Judge Jeffrey Trauger ruled in Harran’s favor that October, clearing the way for the program.
Voters weighed in a month later. Ceisler defeated Harran by roughly 15 percentage points amid a county-wide Democratic surge, flipping an office Republicans had held for years.
Community Impact
Ceisler, a U.S. Army veteran and former public-safety official in Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration, took office January 5, 2026. Within days he gathered feedback from immigrant advocates who described widespread fear.
“One leader in the Latino community … reported to me that not a single member of their community had called 911 or felt comfortable reporting a crime since this partnership became public,” Ceisler said. “They feared that local law enforcement responding to a crime they reported would take them too.”
The county’s immigrant population-drawn from India, South Asia, Latin America, Liberia, and Ukraine-numbers more than 50,000, according to Ceisler. “Those immigrants are our neighbors. They are our friends. They are taxpayers,” he said. “And they deserve the protection of law enforcement in this community.”
Additional Protections
Beyond ending the 287G agreement, Ceisler signed a second order barring deputies from asking crime victims, witnesses, or court observers about their immigration status. The directive aims to restore trust and encourage cooperation with police.
James O Connor Fields reported that no federal officials attended the announcement, and ICE has not commented on the county’s withdrawal.
