County Council
Council votes to block immigration enforcement cooperation without a warrant after council president's son receives death threat.
On March 10, Allegheny County Council voted to bar county officials from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant. It passed 11 to 3. The council president, whose son received a death threat that morning, said he abstained so threats couldn't be seen as a factor. From there, the ordinance went to the county executive for her signature.
Written by Amy Whipple
Allegheny County officials will not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant.
The vote by Allegheny County Council to codify that came March 10 after two hours of public comment and nearly an hour of member discussion. Council approved the measure with 11 votes in favor, three opposed and Council President Patrick Catena of Carnegie abstaining.
Catena participated in the meeting by phone because his son received a death threat at their home that morning. He expressed his anger at the situation and that neither he, nor the rest of council, could be intimidated or threatened into silence. He said he was abstaining from the vote because he did not want “to allow anyone to claim that threats or intimidation had any influence over the democratic process or the outcome of my decision.”
Prior to the final vote, council members debated proposed amendments to the legislation including two from council member Aaron Adams of Duquesne. One would have sunset the bill on Jan. 1, 2029. It failed nine to six. His second, which, among other things, would have exempted the Fifth Judicial District, county police and the offices of the controller, district attorney, sheriff and treasurer, failed five to 10.
The ordinance as introduced went to the county executive for her signature.
Connections to this story
- Elected officials:
- Patrick Catena
- Local issues:
- Allegheny County's limits on ICE
- Governments:
- County Council
More surveys
Have your say on more of the stories we’re covering.
County Council
Council calls on state to invest $80 million in violence prevention after county homicides drop nearly 60%.
Allegheny County shares homicide numbers with the public, but it doesn't publish data on non-fatal shootings. Its dashboard shows homicides fell almost 60% from 2024 to 2025. Council has now passed a resolution urging the state to put at least $80 million into violence prevention. It credits the state's program in part for fewer shootings and homicides.
Follow the issues:
Stopping violence before it startsCity Council
City renews energy contract to keep costs below national average.
Half of the city's electricity comes from renewable sources, and it costs less than the national average, officials said. Now council has advanced a six-year contract with Enel X, which advises the city on when to buy energy. The request says it comes at no added cost to the city. The current contract runs out March 31.
Follow the issues:
Buying the city's energyCity Council
City may create one vendor fee with an add on for prime spots ahead of NFL Draft.
Street vendors and peddlers may soon pay one $135 city license fee, plus extra to get the same spot every day. The new schedule combines fees from three city departments. The finance director said it's revenue neutral and will make permits easier to get before the NFL Draft. Council has given preliminary approval and is scheduled to vote next week.
Follow the issues:
Bringing back sidewalk vendorsThe NFL Draft comes to PittsburghCity Council
Security and space agreements approved as city prepares for NFL Draft.
Some North Shore light poles are coming down to make room for NFL Draft crowds, the city's technology director said. One holds a crowd monitoring camera that the city wants atop a garage by the stadium during the event. On March 11, council gave preliminary approval to that and two no-cost space deals, including a warehouse for police training.
Follow the issues:
The NFL Draft comes to PittsburghSchool Board
Board denies Montessori charter application amid broader magnet program debate.
A district facilities plan proposed eliminating most of Pittsburgh's K-5 magnet programs. One board member said Pittsburgh Montessori should go too if the plan passes, for fairness. Then, on Feb. 25, the board unanimously denied a charter bid from Three Rivers Wildflower Montessori. About 20 parents, students, and teachers had defended Montessori at a hearing two days earlier.
Follow the issues:
PPS school closuresSchool Board
School board directors to make closure decisions before summer.
On Feb. 17, the school board agreed to decide before summer whether to close nine school buildings. The board rejected the closure plan in November, then voted in January to reconsider it. Directors asked for more information on staffing and on the buildings if they close. Then, at a Feb. 23 hearing, parents opposed the closures, and one said many questions remain unanswered.
Follow the issues:
PPS school closuresCity Council
Homewood's Operation Better Block in line for $300,000 anti-violence contract renewal.
Group violence intervention tries to curb gun violence by focusing on the people most at risk. Now the city's public safety director wants council to approve a three-year, $300,000 deal with Homewood's Operation Better Block. The group provides technology for the program, like tracking outreach work and potential hot spots. Council is set to take it up March 11.
Follow the issues:
Stopping violence before it startsCity Council
$1 million transfer approved for two new ambulances as fleet needs mount.
On March 4, council gave preliminary approval to use $1 million in grant money for two new ambulances. A council member also asked about two out-of-service fire vehicles. The city's senior fleet manager said the city should push hard to buy fire vehicles. But he said new ones must be modified for narrow streets and hills, so they can take years to arrive.
Follow the issues:
Pittsburgh's broken-down vehicle fleetCity Council
State grant would fund new traffic signal at dangerous Oakland intersection.
Fifth Avenue and Dithridge Street in Oakland saw 10 crashes, including one death, from 2020 to 2025. The city's transportation department now wants council to accept an $806,000 state grant to replace the traffic light there. The intersection sits in front of a student-heavy apartment complex, and five transit routes pass through. Council is set to discuss it March 11.
Follow the issues:
Vision Zero and safer streetsCounty Council
Committee moves forward with legislation to limit county cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Residents have told Allegheny County Council that county officers have been turning immigrants over to ICE. On March 2, the public safety committee voted to advance a bill limiting county cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Three members opposed it, and one warned the county could lose federal funding. Next, the full council could vote as early as March 10.
Follow the issues:
Allegheny County's limits on ICECounty Council
Public comment time cut in half as immigration debate draws crowds.
Seventy people signed up to speak at Allegheny County Council's Feb. 24 meeting. As it began, nine of 15 members voted to cut each speaker's time from three minutes to 90 seconds. Comments were overwhelmingly against county cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. So far, council hasn't said whether it'll do the same on March 10.
Follow the issues:
Allegheny County's limits on ICECity Council
Carnegie Mellon to cover a $200,000 match for safe streets.
Carnegie Mellon has offered to cover a $200,000 match the city lacks for a federal street safety grant. That brings the Safe Streets and Roads for All project to $400,000. Still, a council member wondered whether one large contribution from nonprofits that don't pay city taxes would be more efficient. Council voted to keep moving toward accepting the money.
Follow the issues:
Vision Zero and safer streetsBig donors, public billsCity Council
City Council weighing whether ShotSpotter is worth the cost.
ShotSpotter sensors alert Pittsburgh police to gunfire without waiting for a 911 call. Council is still weighing whether to renew the $1.2 million yearly contract. A city audit found ShotSpotter got police to possible gunfire about five minutes faster than 911 calls. Still, critics say the system leads to over-policing in marginalized areas.
Follow the issues:
ShotSpotter's price tagWestmoreland County
County advances housing safety, treatment programs and major infrastructure funding.
While public comment centered on immigration enforcement, most formal actions taken by commissioners focused on housing, public health and infrastructure investments.
Westmoreland County
ICE agreement sparks packed meeting and legal dispute among commissioners.
More than 80 residents attended the February meeting of the Westmoreland County Board of Commissioners as nearly 20 speakers provided comments. Most of the comments were about Sheriff James Albert’s agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the federal 287(g) program which allows local police agencies to enforce federal immigration laws.
Westmoreland County
Paper ballot printing agreement approved while residents ask for more ballot drop boxes.
Commissioners approved an agreement to purchase paper ballots to supplement electronic voting at a rate of $0.215 per ballot, plus $0.03 for a window in the outer return envelope. Residents will vote by marking the paper ballots by hand. The ballots will then be scanned and counted in much the same manner as electronic ballots.
Forward Township
Parkway bridge closure will affect commuters for 25 days.
Cline announced that the Interstate 376/Commercial Street Bridge on the Parkway East in Pittsburgh will close for 25 days for construction.
Forward Township
Part-time road crew hire approved without posting the job.
The board voted 2-0 to hire Mark Stewart as a part-time road crew employee, with Levdansky abstaining.
Forward Township
Forward will pay more for police, but locks in two more years of coverage.
Forward approved an increase to its existing police contract with Elizabeth Township during a contentious Feb. 9 meeting that drew a packed audience of residents.
County Council
Hallam reports there are fewer people sleeping outdoors than last year.
Fewer people are living outdoors in Allegheny County than last year, a county council member said. Counting on Feb. 3, she saw no one on a South Side trail where she said 60 to 70 lived last year. She credited coordinated outreach and the Housing First approach. Still, winter shelters are open, she noted, so warmer months may look different.