Newly minted Councilwoman Helen Gym joined a coalition of immigrant rights groups Friday to condemn the ongoing immigrant raids across the nation.

Last weekend, 121 undocumented persons were reportedly taken into custody in Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina, as part of a large-scale deportation initiative.

The Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC) organized an impromptu rally outside the Department of Homeland Security office at 16th and Callowhill Streets, where they were joined by members of fellow immigrant advocacy groups Juntos and New Sanctuary Movement. 

In a brief speech, Gym promised to work with these groups to create legislation against the raids. What exactly such legislation would look like remained unclear Friday.

NOW: Immigrant rights group protest raids outside Homeland Security office pic.twitter.com/eu62vJJmO3

— AL DÍA News (@ALDIANews) January 8, 2016

Immigration policy is crafted by the federal government. Local municipalities can control certain factors — like the degree to which local law enforcement will cooperate with federal immigration agents — but beyond that, any gesture from City Hall would likely be a symbolic resolution.

"Obviously, the federal government is moving on its own processes, but it's really important for local officials to register their concerns," Gym told AL DÍA.

Gym praised the executive order that Mayor Jim Kenney's signed on his first day in office to restore Philadelphia's "sanctuary" status for immigrants. But the city shouldn't stop there, she added:

"Now, for that statement to have teeth, we need to stand up when these kinds of raids are happening to members of our own city. The Central American situation is probably one of the largest humanitarian crises we've seen in this hemisphere in recent times. It's a very serious situation, and we can not be inhumane on this."

Councilwoman Helen Gym says @PHLCouncil will propose whatever resolution it can to take a stand against the raids pic.twitter.com/MwQMVQcW6W

— AL DÍA News (@ALDIANews) January 8, 2016

Gym, largely known for her fierce education advocacy, has also been organizing alongside immigration activists for two decades.

It remains unclear if and to what degree Philadelphia will be targeted by the national raids. There have been numerous unconfirmed reports of heightened activity from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) throughout the week. However, an unnamed ICE official told WHYY NewsWorks that the city is "not involved in the recent enforcement action," and has been continuing its usual operations targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions.

Due to heightened levels of fear among the undocumented, groups like Juntos and New Sanctuary movement have been regularly meeting and discussing the issue with their communities. Meanwhile, more local organizations are taking a stand. West Kensington Ministry recently offered its parish as a sanctuary to immigrants targeted by the raids.