Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich was joined by members of the Montgomery County Council to sign four bills related to immigration enforcement into law.
Before signing the bills, Elrich told a gathering at the Executive Office Building in Rockville it’s important for the county’s immigrant population to know they’re safe and that, “We’re here to help you and not put obstacles in your way.”
The bills seek to restrict U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a number of ways.
The Montgomery County Values Act, Elrich said, “basically directs the county executive to develop and publish guidance for all county agencies. It prohibits the use of county-owned parking lots and properties as staging areas or processing locations for civil immigration enforcement and it creates a public reporting mechanism for violations.”
Council member Kristin Mink, who led the council on the bill, responded to questions about ICE enforcement actions.
“That has been happening since before I wrote the bill, and it was the reason I wrote the bill,” Mink said. “We know that ICE stages in parking lots, both county and nonpublic parking lots.”
At the bill signing, County Council President Natali Fani-González, who pushed through the Trust Act, legislation that prohibits county employees and agencies from asking or collecting information on an individual’s immigration status, pointed out “over 30% of the people who live in this county, they’re immigrants, just like me.”
Three of the bills were expedited to take effect as soon as they were signed into law.
Bill 5-26, the Unmask ICE Act, bars any law enforcement agency, with some exceptions, from wearing masks in the course of their duties.
“It shows that we care about our residents and that we are going to fight with every tool we have. If we’ve got to go to court, we’ll go to court, because our residents are worth fighting for,” Council member Will Jawando, the son of immigrants, said.
Jawando was referring to the potential for legal challenges based on whether a local government can regulate the operations of a federal entity.
Bill 13-26, the ICE Out Act, bars the county from issuing building permits or occupancy permits for privately owned detention facilities. That bill was sponsored by Council member Evan Glass, who cited the proposed conversion of a warehouse into an immigration detention facility in Washington County.
“We proactively stood up and said, ‘We will not let that happen here,'” said Glass, who said the county wanted to reassure immigrants that they are “welcome, safe and seen.”
Both Jawando and Glass are running for Montgomery County executive.
Another bill, Bill 14-26, was sponsored by Council member Kate Stewart. That bill — now signed into law — seeks to make recovering a vehicle less of an obstacle for families whose loved one is taken into custody from their car.
Stewart said constituents let her office know that when immigrants were detained by ICE, their vehicles were left by the roadside, and towed.
“As family members are dealing with locating, reaching, trying to figure out where their loved ones were taken, at the same time they had to figure out where their vehicles were,” Stewart said.
And once the vehicles were found, Stewart said, “if their names were not on the title, that they could not get the car out of impoundment.”
The bill removes that obstacle by broadening the documentation a family member or household member would need to release the vehicle.
At one point during the bill signing, lawmakers and Elrich were asked about whether the new laws make it more difficult for law enforcement agents and officers to do their jobs. Fani-González said the council consulted with local law enforcement.
Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada was at the news conference when the Trust Act was introduced, and Fani-González said the legislation was supported “because they understand that in order for the police to do their job, people need to feel safe and trust police officers.”
“I’m proud that they have been with us 100%,” she said.
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