WASHINGTON — As Rockville City Council members consider an ordinance that would bar police from asking about immigration status while enforcing the law, hate-laced emails have been sent to the mayor and council.
Two of the emails, obtained by WTOP, contain graphic insults wishing harm to the council members who support the proposed ordinance.
The heightened emotion surrounding the debate over how police should deal with immigrants comes a week after a 14-year-old Rockville High School student was raped in a boy’s bathroom.
Two fellow students have been charged — one of whom, police confirmed, is in the United States illegally.
A hearing on the Rockville ordinance, which would codify current policy, was held March 6. It doesn’t appear on the next City Council agenda for March 27, but remains under consideration.
Such an ordinance would mirror the Montgomery County Police Department’s approach to law enforcement: Police would not inquire about immigration status while pursuing criminals.
A Maryland Senate committee is expected to take up the immigration “Trust Act” before the end of the week in Annapolis. The bill would bar police from asking about immigration status while investigating crimes, and would prevent them from turning someone over to federal officials without a judge’s order.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has called the House version of the bill “irresponsible” and has vowed to veto it should it come to his desk.
