In a party-line vote Monday night, Plum Council opted 4-3 to pass a resolution that bars police or borough employees from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
The resolution makes Plum the latest in a series of local municipalities that have sought to limit their connection to ICE and Border Patrol activity as operations continue throughout the region.
Plum’s new Democratic majority, elected as a slate in November 2025, voted as a bloc to pass the resolution, while the three Republican councilmen opposed the measure.
Mayor Harry Schlegel, a Republican, has consistently called the resolution redundant and said he would refuse to sign it.
Plum Solicitor Dayne Dice said the mayor’s refusal to sign would have no effect on implementing the resolution.
Schlegel, who oversees the department, issued a directive to Plum Police early last month prohibiting officers from assisting immigration agents except for instances such as traffic and crowd control at scenes.
After the vote, the mayor said he thought the resolution was “ridiculous.”
But Councilman Ray Rall, who voted in favor of the resolution, said it provided more formal regulations and offered a uniform policy for the entire borough, including administrative employees and others.
“Ultimately, this is about defining our role as a local government,” Rall said. “It is about protecting our officers, safeguarding borough resources, maintaining public trust, and ensuring that Plum Borough remains focused on Plum Borough’s responsibilities.”
Council President Ryan Delaney, a Democrat, dressed for the second week in a row in a red-white-and-blue blazer and cowboy hat, said he hopes the resolution can provide some comfort for immigrants in the Plum community.
The divided vote was no surprise, he said, but he hopes it doesn’t set a precedent for the future.
“I hope it’s not a harbinger of things to come,” Delaney said.
Rall, however, said he believes council won’t have an issue moving past the immigration debate.
The crowd at Monday night’s voting meeting was slimmer than last week’s discussion meeting, which drew dozens of people to the borough building.
Still, several residents took to the podium to speak their mind.
Robert Kelly said he felt the resolution undermined the mayor’s authority over the police. He recommended council table the motion and pray on it.
“ICE is coming here to do a job,” Kelly said. “We can let them do it, and you can let them do it the way they’re being led to do because the president was elected by the people.”
Angela Starosta said newly added ICE officers were poorly trained and vetted, and local police should stay out of their activities, leading to a brief back-and-forth with the mayor.
Before the meeting, Starosta and resident Ramie Shoff held a 22-foot banner reading “Immigrant rights are human rights” outside the borough building entrance.
“This is dangerous, and all we are asking is to know that the Plum Police, if this should happen in our neighborhood, will not be a party to this,” she said.
Plum’s resolution is virtually identical to one passed by Oakmont last month after Nicaraguan-born resident Jose Flores was detained and later released by ICE.
Several other local governments have also said they won’t cooperate with immigration agents, including McCandless, Bellevue and Swissvale.
Across the river in Springdale, however, officials have inked a 287(g) agreement to work with ICE, resulting in the detainment of Peru-born resident Randy Cordova-Flores last month.
Plum’s resolution explicitly bars police from entering such an agreement.
The resolution went into effect immediately after Monday’s vote.