Every Pennsylvanian has an inalienable right against unreasonable searches and seizures. During the struggle and birth of this great Nation we fought for these rights and our independence against tyranny and oppression from a Monarchy without restraint.  These rights are enshrined in both the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as well as Article I, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which our state Supreme Court has affirmed are even greater than those afforded to us by the U.S. Constitution. The founders of both our nation and Commonwealth recognized that detaining, searching, and harassing individuals without cause are the actions of a tyrannical state.
 
In our modern era, we are seeing this promise of freedom and liberty being stripped away as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been making warrantless and often violent arrests and detainment of individuals who are Legal Residents and/or U.S. citizens. Even though some of these residents have been carrying valid identification, they have been unlawfully detained and held in immigration detention centers often for days, some suffering conditions described as “punitive”, “grossly overcrowded” and “dungeon-like.”
 
To hold our government accountable and guarantee that victims of these wrongful detentions have the ability to take action after their constitutional rights have been infringed upon, I will be introducing legislation that will create a cause of action against anyone who interferes with a person’s rights secured by the Constitutions and laws of the United States and the Commonwealth through unlawful detention, violence, threat, intimidation, or coercion.
 
The eyes of history are upon us as to whether we will continue to defend our sacred rights and liberties.  As state lawmakers, we have a duty to protect the residents of the Commonwealth from illegal and violent overreach by any government officials now, just as we did over two centuries ago. As such, I seek your support for this legislation to make all Pennsylvanians feel secure in their rights against unreasonable, unlawful, and unconscionable seizures.