PPA and ICE got cozy for taxi driver sting. Why?

Isaiah Thompson

After being told he was owed money, then turned over to I.C.E., handcuffed, and detained at PPA headquarters, Oliver was let go. 23 drivers were charged.

Today, taxi drivers, supporters, and clergy members gathered at PPA headquarters in a "prayer vigil" for taxi drivers detained and/or charged with being here illegally after being netted in a sting set up by the PPA and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Last week, the Daily News reported that PPA officials, in collaboration with ICE, sent notes to 26 taxi cab drivers (cabs are governed by the PPA), telling them they were owed credit card payments, and should come by PPA headquarters to collect.

In fact, the notes were bogus: the drivers were greeted at the door and, they say, ushered into another room where they were handcuffed and detained by ICE officials.

Here's an account from Oliver (he preferred not to give his last name), one of the three men released without any charges, with whom I spoke today:

PPA sent us a letter saying they're holding  some money if you come over and pick it up. I have the letter in my car! When I got there, there was a lady who asked me for my ID, I gave it to her, she checked the list, and said ok, this man will escort you inside to get your check. When I came in , they push me to the wall and say, "Police! Police!" I said, "What have I done? What have I done? What is the problem?" They didn't answer. They just took me to a warehouse in the back, where I saw the other drivers, handcuffed, sitting on the floor. I saw one of the immigration officials and I said 'I am a citizen! I've been a citizen for seven years – my passport is outside in the car.' They said, 'Really?' They went out and brought it back and they said 'We're sorry - we're very very sorry - we made a mistake."

According to ICE spokesman Mark Medvesky, the operation was the result of a perceived vulnerability: taxi drivers have "access to parts of the airport that the general public does not have."

ICE, he says, approached PPA and asked to review drivers' records, ultimately coming up with the 26-person list. The 23 charged with being here illegally can challenge their deportations in immigration court.

The sting raises a few questions:

- After an extensive review of some 5,000 records, ICE only found 26 people of interest, and charged even fewer: was the .04% percent rate enough to justify such a search or such an elaborate sting? Was ICE expecting to find more than it did?

- If taxi drivers pose a threat to airport security — why perform such a search now? And why aren't similar stings being conducted in other cities (spokesman Medvesky affirmed that they aren't).

- Was the method of arrest — sending bogus notices to cab drivers and bringing them to PPA headquarters (not a federal facility, that is, but that of their employer) — appropriate?

- Is the timing of this sting political? Medvesky says no, pointing out the operation was in the works before the city canceled its collaborative arrangement between police and  ICE officials.

Ron Blount, president of the Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania, suggests that the timing had more to do with PPA's recent losing court battle against the Taxi Workers' Alliance. The PPA, he suggests, is trying to curry favor with Harrisburg at a time when the agency finds itself suddenly without teeth.

You got to the heart of the matter.  IT IS POLITICAL

You got to the heart of it.  IT IS POLITICAL.
Both ICE and PPA are political.  The perceived threat at the AP IS BULLSHIT.  I work the airport sometimes driving a cab and I don't have access to areas the public doesn't have.  Ride with me, I'll show you.

Thanks for the comments as always. 

Hey Steve (I know Mr. Chervenka from past reporting),

Why not flush out your own take on *how* or *why* it's political (if you care to)? I'm interested to hear it, and I'll bet other readers are, too. - Isaiah

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What percent rate of airline passengers took the towers down, Isaac?

Hope this will enlighten.  It's politcal because the Philadelphia Parking Authority is all political.  It's board is appointed by the Governor.  All the jobs are given to friends, particarly the Republican friends.  They constantly do things to suave a good image of themselves through the money they collect.  Search the last three years of the PPA in the news and you will find ghost employees, cozy relationships with pols, and PR from them about how much they do for the city.  Regarding the taxi/Ice issue, (from their gifted takeover of the taxi industry as regulators), they recently lost most of their power thourgh a Supreme Court of PA decision and then from the Commonwealth Court stating that they have reigned over the taxi industry unconstitutionally and must follow the document laws, which requires a long review of proposed regs before they can regulate.  This is supposed to be done by every state agency so that the people you are regulating are not taken advantaged through misuses of power.  So now they need the legislators in Harrisburg to give them the power to regulate without following the doc law by enacting new legislation.  To put taxi drivers in a bad light may convince legislaturs to enact a law giving them back absolute power.  Their proposed taxi and limo budget for the upcoming year includes 3.7 million in salaries to pay the taxi and limo division of the PPA.  Most of this money comes from fines and fees of taxi drivers.  Perhaps, if taxi drivers are a targeted bunch of illegal immigrants, they would need a new department, and need to hire more for their staff?