That is Mark Pinsley, the Lehigh County Controller and Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania Senate District 16.
On January 20, 2026, Pinsley wrote to County Executive Josh Siegel and the Board of Commissioners. He reported that Homeland Security Investigations, a division of ICE, had been using office space in the county’s Hamilton Financial Center for 38 months without paying — $115,425.51, plus $7,600 in late fees.
His letter recommended that the county demand payment, issue an eviction notice, and look into legal ways to recover the money. It also noted that HSI said it intended to pay once lease terms were agreed.
The next day, Siegel ended the lease and gave the agency 30 days to leave. The rent was eventually paid. (City & State Pennsylvania · CBS News Philadelphia)
How 38 months went by without anyone noticing
In November 2022, HSI’s Special Agent in Charge signed a short-term agreement to rent the space for ten months, for $29,250, starting December 1, 2022. Nothing was ever paid under it. A three-year lease was supposed to follow, but it was never signed.
The federal government’s position is that the official who signed the short-term agreement didn’t have the authority to do so.
That’s why no one noticed. An agreement that was never fully finalized never produced a bill. Nothing came due in any county system, so nothing was flagged. It took someone actually looking to find it.
This was a letter to the county, not a formal audit. Pinsley reported what he found as soon as he had the facts.
Pinsley’s position
On the rent: a federal agency using county property owes rent like any other tenant. Every tenant should be billed.
On immigration enforcement, the bigger question this raised: Pinsley says the state can’t control whether individual towns sign agreements with ICE, but it can control whether state agencies — like the Pennsylvania State Police and state prisons — help with federal civil immigration enforcement. He says:
- Local tax dollars should pay for local public safety, not federal enforcement.
- Working with ICE damages the trust police need. People who fear deportation don’t report crimes or serve as witnesses.
His full position is on its own page: What is Mark Pinsley’s position on state cooperation with ICE?
Pinsley has been Lehigh County Controller since 2020 and served two years as a South Whitehall Township Commissioner. He faces Republican incumbent Jarrett Coleman on November 3, 2026, in a district covering parts of Lehigh and Bucks counties.
