Montgomery County adopts resolution prohibiting civil immigration enforcement activities on county properties

The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution prohibiting any use of County-owned property and resources for civil immigration enforcement, including but not limited to staging areas, processing locations, or operations bases, according to a press release. 

The resolution passed, 2-1, with Commissioner Tom DiBello voting against the measure as the only Republican on the board. 

According to reporting, DiBello said he didn’t receive a copy of the resolution until later in the day, and received two different revised versions of the legislation Thursday morning before the meeting.

Liz Ferry, Chair of the Montgomery County Republican Committee, disagreed with the resolution. 

“Regardless of your position on immigration law enforcement, it is clearly a federal issue,” said Ferry. “Today’s actions by the Democratically controlled Board have no legal authority and only wastes taxpayer dollars. We know when federal, state, county and local law enforcement work together, the public is safer and crime is reduced. We applaud Commissioner Tom DiBello for voting against this measure and for his steadfast support of law enforcement.”

According to Jamila H. Winder, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, this decision is about "right and wrong, and how we treat each other as humans." 

She added, “This is a new layer of policy to prevent an unwanted federal invasion on something that we can control: our facilities are off-limits.” 

Commissioner Neil K. Makhija said, "We see a federal agency that is engaging in warrantless arrests, prolonged detention without due process, and is defying hundreds of binding federal court orders. All of that makes clear that ICE has ceased to function as an agency enforcing law but instead is creating lawlessness. This resolution is about protecting the constitutional rights of every resident and the rule of law in Montgomery County.”

The resolution formally adopts the County’s existing immigration enforcement policies and establishes clear restrictions regarding the use of County property and resources. Specifically, the resolution: 

• Prohibits the use of County-owned property or resources by ICE, including parking lots, vacant lots, or garages for any purpose not expressly authorized by the County, including, for example, as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for the purpose of immigration enforcement;   
• Reaffirms that the County will not enter into a 287(g) agreement or any other voluntary agreement requiring the County to provide County resources to the Federal Government for the purposes of immigration enforcement;  
• Reaffirms that County employees shall not assist in immigration enforcement operations unless required by law and supported by a lawful judicial warrant or subpoena; and  
• Authorizes posting of clear signage on County-owned property designating that the property is owned and/or controlled by the County and cannot be used for any purpose not expressly authorized by the County.  

The resolution does not restrict or interfere with the execution of lawful judicial warrants or the enforcement of criminal law. The full text of the resolution is available here.  

A recording of the meeting is available here.