Gainey stands firm against ICE participation; Attorney weighs in on raids, what you should do

    PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (WTAE) -- Mayor Ed Gainey emphasized to residents and other city officials that his office will not aid ICE amid President Donald Trump's push for immigration enforcement.

Meanwhile, Sen. Dave McCormick opposes that comment, saying the mayor needs to follow the law and the lead of some other Democratic mayors. He goes on to say that mayors will no longer get a pass for taking the law into their own hands. But the mayor had this to say:

"We're a welcoming city and we are a city made up of immigrants," Gainey said. "We will always be welcoming of everybody."

Since the mayor has been vocal about his administration's involvement, what would that look like if Immigration and Customs Enforcement made their way into Pittsburgh?

"Pittsburgh not cooperating will not prevent ICE from going in and arresting people within the city limits," Kristen Schneck, an immigration-based attorney in the city of Pittsburgh said Tuesday. "What it basically means is that the Pittsburgh Police force will not be actively participating in the arrests or stops."

With ICE raids ramping up in major cities, Schneck said she has been receiving about 20 to 30 calls daily from prospective, new people panicking.

"I think the concern is the possibility of ICE encounters being subject to an ICE raid," Schneck said.

All this panic is stemming from an executive order that President Donald Trump signed aimed at arresting criminals who have entered the country illegally.

"[The executive order] made it easier to indefinitely detain people because of criminal charges, but even if they're later released, they can still be indefinitely detained. A lot of the people, that the stories I'm hearing, are collateral people. They're not specifically people with criminal charges that are being picked up" Schneck said.

She tells Pittsburgh's Action News 4 that so far, these raids have been limited to suburbs outside the city. She believes, however, it's only a matter of time before agents make their way into the city.

So, the question remains for the immigrant community: what do you do if you find yourself subjected to an ICE raid?

"Immigrants have the right to remain silent. They have the right to an attorney. They have the right to not have to sign any documentation or to disclose their nationality," Schneck said.

But she said to be aware of this.

"But then once they're on-site, they will start asking anyone else there who might not be or have proper documentation. I think that the situation is just getting started. I'm very fearful that they will, in fact, go into schools with the resending of the safe spaces policy," Schneck said.