Montgomery County police in Maryland do not take part in immigration enforcement, and Third District Cmdr. Jason Cokinos told reporters this week that will not change.
The county police department’s third district includes Silver Spring, White Oak and Burtonsville.
“Montgomery County police is not going to a scene demanding immigration status paperwork, or asking people what their status is,” Cokinos said.
Cokinos told reporters he was recently at a community meeting in Long Branch, a neighborhood with a large immigrant population, and was surprised by the level of comfort that many people had talking with police about their concerns.
“I can’t say that’s everybody,” he added, but explained the department has “been doing, for years, extensive community engagement” in areas that include residents who may not have legal status in the U.S.
The point that police want to emphasize, Cokinos said, is that “we need people to continue to report crime if they’re victims.”
During Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart’s weekly briefing, she echoed the position that police and county officials want everyone — no matter their legal status — to be able to report public safety concerns.
“I feel strongly that this is important for public safety across our entire community,” she said.
Montgomery County’s police department does not participate in the 287(g) agreement that allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deputize local law enforcement officers to handle limited immigration enforcement tasks.
Under the program, local police could screen jailed immigrants, determine their immigration status and hold them for eventual deportation by ICE agents.
Maryland’s General Assembly session ended without passage of a bill that would have blocked police departments in the state from taking part in the 287(g) program.
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