By Betsy Brewer Brantner
Contributing Writer

Oxford Borough Council adopted Resolution #1416-2026 establishing an official policy that the borough’s law enforcement officers and resources shall not be engaged in the enforcement of non-criminal federal immigration laws at the council meeting on March 2.

Borough Manager Pauline Garcia-Allen explained, “We were looking for something to deal with federal and civil immigration issues. It was important that it wasn’t provocative. We typically look at other municipalities to see what has worked for them.”

Resident Ken Sapp questioned what the ordinance would do.

“What if an illegal citizen has a criminal warrant here?” Sapp asked.

Police Chief Sam Iacono said, “I don’t have the right to bring you in to check your legal status. That is not for us to decide. As a police department, we help everyone. That is in everyone’s best interest.”

The resolution has been placed in full on the borough’s website at oxfordboro.org. The following is included.

What the Resolution Does:

Prohibits the Borough from entering into agreements, including participation in the federal 287(g) program, that would authorize local police officers to enforce federal civil immigration law on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Prohibits the use of Borough resources - including personnel, time and funding - to assist with civil immigration enforcement activities.

Clarifies that immigration status alone is treated as a civil matter, not a criminal offense under Pennsylvania law.

Affirms the Borough's commitment to focusing local law enforcement resources on local public safety priorities, including the investigation and prosecution of criminal activity.

What the Resolution Does Not Do:

Prevent federal agents from conducting lawful operations within the Borough.

Prohibit cooperation with federal authorities in criminal investigations.

Interfere with the enforcement of criminal law at the local, state or federal level. 

The Resolution affirms that Borough police officers will not serve as federal immigration agents for purposes of civil enforcement. It reflects what has always been policy and practice in the Borough and is consistent with Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (PLEAC) requirements. Oxford Borough remains committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of every resident. The resolution is intended to help ensure that local law enforcement resources, and Borough resources generally, remain focused on core public safety and service requirements. We want and need all residents to feel safe reporting crimes, cooperating with investigations, and engaging with local law enforcement regardless of immigration status. 

In other business at the meeting, Beth Uhler, Pennsylvania director of the Center for Watershed Protection presented a stormwater and MS4 update to Oxford Borough Council. 

Uhler explained, “This is a five-year permit that protects water quality. The borough needs to make sure they are doing what is required of this permit.”

MS4 is an acronym for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System. It is a publicly owned, regulated system of conveyances, including roads, catch basins, curbs, gutters, and pipes, designed to collect and transport untreated stormwater runoff to local water bodies. 

MS4 permits, mandated by the EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, require operators (municipalities, universities, or departments of transportation) to implement programs to reduce pollutant discharges.

The borough’s is located within the Chesapeake Bay’s purview which makes it even more important to protect the water discharge.

Every MS4 permittee has to report to DEP annually, has to educate the public about the program, and post water quality reports on the borough’s website, on Facebook and in the borough newsletter.

Uhler said that the borough has completed a project at the Community of Love Church wetlands. They are currently installing rain garden bump-outs on Mt. Vernon Street in a grant-funded project. A bump-out is a landscaped extension of the street curb. Runoff water is directed underneath the system to be stored, infiltrated, and absorbed by plants, such as grasses, perennials and shrubs. The plantings will be installed as weather permits.  

Uhler said, “We have almost completed our inventory of problems. We will do an inspection of the public works systems. The borough is in good shape at this point and has completed employee training.”

More information on MS4 and the Mt. Vernon project is available on the borough’s website.

Iacono presented the police report to Oxford Borough Council.

“For the month of January. we had 525 calls for service and three criminal arrests,” he said.

The police department has ordered a new vehicle and council will receive updates on that. The police chief also disclosed that there is no new information on the county radios, but they will start putting them into police vehicles.

The Pennsylvania State Police held an After Action Review at Lincoln University following the shooting incident last September. The Oxford Borough Police Department will be kept in the loop on new developments regarding the plan.

The police department has received two new applicants for upcoming police testing, Iacono said.

Mayor Phil Harris told council that he has been trying to organize a meeting with other mayors in the county. 

“I had an event a few weeks ago and ten mayors in the county and County Commissioner Josh Maxwell attended,” Harris said. “We focused on ICE when it hit Phoenixville. We discussed our police policies in real time, how we prepare and what messaging we are sending out. It is important that all residents understand they have equal access to the police. If an issue comes up, we want them to know they can call 911and we will go assist them. We discussed how we get messaging out. We want to put together a joint statement and a proclamation.” 

Borough Solicitor Stacey Fuller reported that she is continuing to work on a waterline agreement for a property bordering the borough. She is also working on the Niblock Alley grant and the legalities that go with it.

Garcia-Allen delivered her report. She updated the council on the parking garage and the newly installed gates. There is more information on the website about parking in the garage and other parking lots in the borough.

She also thanked the Public Works Department and all borough employees for their assistance with the parking garage. She explained that, in the event that anyone has an issue while leaving the parking garage, there is a 24-hour call button at the exit gate.

Oxford Borough Council approved Resolution #1417-2026 amending the 2026 fee schedule and also authorized the Oxford Mainstreet, Inc. special event permit application for the Cinco de Mayo event on May 1 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.. The event will be moved to Oxford Feed and Lumber.

Also approved was a MECO Construction Inc. pay application No. 3 in the amount of $82,548.90 and pay application No. 4 in the amount of $363,477.60 for the Mt. Vernon Street “Dig Once” Project.

Council also authorized a letter of support for the Oxford Area School District’s grant application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Public School Facility Improvement Grant Program to support HVAC system improvements at Nottingham Elementary School. 

Council also discussed the parking requirements in the TC1 District, water department tapping fees, the driving direction of Niblock Alley and the policy for streaming council meetings. The council room is now equipped with audio-visual capabilities, which means streaming of meetings will continue to be discussed in the future.

The next Oxford Borough Council meeting will be held on March 16 at the Borough Hall.