Agencies in Montgomery County, Maryland, would be restricted in hiring former federal immigration enforcement officers under a bill before the county council.
The would apply to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officers or government contractors employed since Oct. 1, 2025 “to support, direct, administer, aid, or otherwise participate in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”
The bill would prohibit several county agencies from hiring these individuals for “sensitive” positions, defined in part by “regular interaction with the public and decision-making authority over access to or distribution of public resources.”
The council heard from two witnesses — one for the legislation, one opposed — during a hearing Tuesday.
Gabriela Rivera of the Montgomery County Immigrant Rights Collective urged the council to pass the bill.
“As council members, it is your job to make the community feel safe and protected. The way the world is right now, nobody feels safe,” she said.
Referencing Monday’s shooting death of a 26-year-old man by immigration enforcement officers in Biddeford, Maine, Rivera said, “Our current administration has been continuing to let down our people, and I know you have seen it. I know you have seen the vicious kidnappings. I know you have seen the straight-up murders.”
“The community deserves to have at least the county government on our side,” Rivera continued. “So please don’t water it down, don’t ignore it, and don’t go against it.”
Speaking against the bill, Esther Wells, the Republican candidate for Montgomery County executive, told the council that, as an immigrant, she understands “true community trust comes from safe neighborhoods and fully staffed public safety departments.”
Wells noted that Council President Natalie Fani-Gonzalez, also an immigrant, was not a sponsor of the bill.
“That should tell us that the debate is not about being pro-immigrant or anti-immigrant. It is about whether this legislation is good policy for Montgomery County,” she said.
Wells also said some information was missing from the legislative packet before the council.
“I urge you to release the missing impact statements, hold all stakeholder discussions in public view, protect our merit-based civil service system, stop playing politics with public safety, and vote no on Bill 29-26,” she said.
The “Community Trust in County Employees Act,” sponsored by Council member Kristin Mink, is one of several bills filed in response to immigration enforcement under the Trump Administration.
The council’s Public Safety and Government Operations and Fiscal Policy committees, are scheduled to hold a joint work session on the bill Oct. 1.
Since it’s an expedited bill, the legislation would take effect immediately once passed.
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