Mahanoy Twp. Police made two more immigration related arrests late last week — Police Chief Jody Long says that brings the agency’s total number of federally-assisted detainments to nine.
The arrest occurred during a vehicle safety inspection on Friday, April 24. According to a public release, two people were identified as being in the U.S. illegally.
Long says those individuals, whose identities have not been disclosed, have since been transported to York County Detention Center.
Ryan Twp. Police also assisted at the stop.
Mahanoy Twp. has been participating in the Task Force Mode l(TFM) of the ICE 287(g) program since February. The program deputizes local officers to interrogate and arrest anyone who is, or is believed to be, an undocumented immigrant, as well as select other ICE officer duties.
Long says three Mahanoy Twp. officers have fully completed the TFM training at this time.
The township’s department is one of seven Schuylkill County law enforcement agencies that have signed onto the TFM this year alone.
Since the beginning of April, Mahanoy Twp. Police have made several other immigration-related arrests — two at a vehicle safety check on April 8 and April 16 and others at a “high-risk incident” on April 11.
Friday’s operations also resulted in multiple vehicle citations and a driver charged for driving under the influence of suspected marijuana, expired registration, possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of a handgun.