Sanctuary Allegheny

Help make Allegheny County a sanctuary for immigrants.

Contacting Representatives

Allegheny County Council Representatives

Allegheny County is split into 13 districts, each of which has one representative on the County Council.

To find your district, take a look at the Council Districts map at the Allegheny County website. Alternatively, you can look at the list of municipalities to find your district number.

In addition to your district’s representative, ALL Allegheny County residents are represented by the two “At-Large” members of the County Council: Bethany Hallam and Mike Embrescia.

Once you find your district number, you can find your County Council representative’s name and contact information.

The phone number 412-350-6490 is listed for all County Council representatives: this is the phone number for their shared office. You can leave a message with the office staff, but the “Contact” link will send your message directly to your representative’s County email address. As such, the “Contact” link is the best way to make sure your message is directly received by your representative.

We encourage you to structure your message to County Council with these points:

  • Introduce yourself and state which neighborhood or municipality you live in to identify yourself as a constituent.
  • State that you are contacting them out of concern/outrage/alarm about the treatment of Allegheny County’s immigrant populations.
    • Note that Allegheny County residents have been detained by ICE at the County courts, Allegheny County Jail, and other County facilities.
  • Urge or demand them to support legislation that protects Allegheny County residents with the following measures:
    • No Allegheny County personnel should inquire into any resident’s immigration status or, if known, disclose that status to anyone;
    • ICE should be denied access to Allegheny County facilities, resources, and personnel;
    • No Allegheny County personnel should arrest, detain, or continue to detain anyone based only on suspected immigration status;
    • ICE requests for cooperation and “immigration detainers” must be denied in all cases;
    • County services and IDs must be made available to all Allegheny County residents regardless of immigration status.
    • No Allegheny County resources should be used to enforce federal immigration law.
  • For maximum impact, we can tailor the closing appeal to your specific councilperson.

Bethany Hallam, Anita Prizio (3), or Dan Grzybek (5):

  • Emphasize that they have a moral imperative to protect Allegheny County’s most vulnerable populations. ICE has been terrorizing immigrants in our communities, both with and without legal status. Conditions at detention centers are deplorable and ICE rarely respects the due process rights of the people it targets. We cannot allow this to go on in our county.
  • Remind them that you, as their constituent, expect them to do everything they can to resist Donald Trump’s right-wing agenda on the local level.
  • Urge them to step up where the national Democrats have failed, and demonstrate the leadership we need.

Nicholas Futules (7), DeWitt Walton (10), or Paul Klein (11):

  • Emphasize that this is about protecting the dignity and safety of Allegheny County residents who are essential members of our community. People are being turned over to ICE for following the law by attending court dates, reporting crimes to police, and living openly in the communities where they live and work.
  • Remind them of the County’s recent budget difficulties and assert that our limited resources should not be appropriated to carry out President Trump’s agenda.
  • Urge them to pass these laws both out of compassion and practical necessity.

Jack Betkowski (1), Patrick Catena (4), John Palmiere (6), Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis (8), Bob Macey (9), Robert Palmosina (12), or David Bonaroti (13):

  • Emphasize that Allegheny County taxpayers’ money should not be appropriated by the federal government to enforce immigration law. We already pay federal taxes, and our county taxes have just been raised. The money we have to pay to the county should be used to pay for county services.
  • Stress that people are being punished for following the law. We should expect Allegheny County residents to attend court when they are summoned or to call the police when they witness a crime. Right now, people are being turned over to ICE when they do these things – this is even happening to US citizens and immigrants with legal status.
  • Express that ICE’s behavior has gone beyond reason and they are disrupting our communities in service to Trump’s right-wing agenda. We need local politicians to step in and restore order and normalcy because national politics have become so unstable.

Mike Embrescia or Suzanne Filiaggi (2):

  • Emphasize that Allegheny County taxpayers’ money should not be appropriated by the federal government to enforce immigration law. We already pay federal taxes, and our county taxes have just been raised. The money we have to pay to the county should be used to pay for county services.
  • Stress that people are being punished for following the law. We should expect Allegheny County residents to attend court when they are summoned or to call the police when they witness a crime. Right now, people are being turned over to ICE when they do these things – this is even happening to US citizens and immigrants with legal status.
  • Remind them that they have the respect of their constituents, Democrats and Republicans alike, because they exercise common sense and know when national politics are getting too crazy. Things have gotten out of hand with ICE, and supporting this kind of legislation can show that they are still independent from the most extreme corners of the Republican Party.

Finally, thank them for their time and consideration, and sign your name.