How ICE and a data center turned a small Pittsburgh suburb into a civic battleground

A Pittsburgh suburb, Springdale Borough, has become a focal point for two flashpoints: data centers and immigration enforcement. The case highlighted involves Jose Acosta, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, detained by Springdale police around 9 a.m. on July 2 while sitting in his parked truck near a job site in Harmar, according to his wife, Yaquelin Vasques. She said officers told her he was arrested for a traffic violation and being transported to an ICE field office in Pittsburgh. ICE said it and Springdale police were conducting field operations in the area. The borough signed a formal 287(g) task force agreement in November, and since February the combination of that collaboration and a proposed data center has driven protests, rallies and at least one arrest during a public meeting.