For nearly three years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has occupied county-owned office space in Lehigh County without a valid lease and without paying rent. According to County Controller Mark Pinsley, the agency owes more than $115,000 in unpaid rent and has continued to use local taxpayer-funded utilities, maintenance, and operational services, all without a signed agreement.

If this were any other tenant, they would have been evicted long ago. ICE should not get special treatment.

We are calling on the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners and County Executive Josh Siegel to:

• Immediately evict ICE from county-owned property
• Cease all lease negotiations or renewals with ICE or the Department of Homeland Security
• Require full payment of all back rent owed by the agency
• Implement new safeguards to ensure no future occupancy without a signed, valid lease

This is about more than unpaid rent. ICE’s presence has brought fear to immigrant communities in Lehigh County, especially in cities like Allentown and Bethlehem, where Latino residents make up a significant share of the population. Their operations have led to courthouse surveillance, workplace raids, and community distrust, all while occupying public space they have not paid for.

Lehigh County residents should not be subsidizing federal immigration enforcement that targets our neighbors.

Sign this petition if you believe Lehigh County must evict ICE, recover taxpayer dollars, and stop providing office space to an agency that refuses to pay its bill.