Public Safety Committee backs U Visa certification bill, adds amendment to reflect state law and misdemeanor concerns

The Montgomery County Council Public Safety Committee voted Jan. 27, 2025, to send Expedited Bill 26-24 — the U Visa Law Enforcement Certification Policy — to the full council with a favorable recommendation, voting 3-0 after adopting a staff amendment that clarifies how state law should inform qualifying offenses.

Legislative Attorney Lusine McCartney Greene told the committee the bill, introduced Jan. 14, would require a police policy directive on U visa certification to be consistent with and no more restrictive than federal immigration law. The bill attracted public support at a hearing: McCartney Greene said about nine speakers testified in favor.

Supporters said the bill aims to remove a local 10-year limitation that had prevented some applicants from qualifying for the federal U visa. A speaker who identified himself as a supporter and thanked MCPD said the department helped 142 applicants in 2024 and already assisted four people who would not have qualified under the county’s previous 10-year restriction.

Montgomery County Police Department officials described operational questions the department is addressing as it revises its policy. Captain Jeff Bunge and other MCPD staff said the department handled 142 U visa applications in 2024 and had nine so far in 2025. Lieutenant Christina Hedgepeth was identified as the single professional staff member primarily handling U visa work. Department staff said they are complying with law but raised implementation questions the committee discussed, including:

- Statutes of limitation: Maryland’s misdemeanor statute for criminal prosecution is one year, department staff noted, while federal statute of limitations for federal crimes is five years; MCPD said this complicates handling misdemeanor qualifying crimes that are reported long after the event.

- Jurisdictional verification: Advisory Commission on Policing recommended retaining a limitation that the qualifying crime occur in Montgomery County. MCPD staff warned verifying reports from other jurisdictions could be time consuming and sometimes infeasible if no mutual-aid or investigation authority exists; MCPD said it can readily access county reports but would need to request records from other agencies.

- USCIS guidance ambiguity: MCPD reported inconsistent written guidance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about whether “helpfulness” requires a formal investigation; staff said that ambiguity affects how the department will document and certify helpfulness to USCIS.

To address these operational issues, committee members and staff proposed and adopted an amendment to the bill (page 5 of the staff report) that adds language making the county policy consistent with federal law while allowing state law to guide interpretation of qualifying offenses where appropriate. The committee moved to adopt the amendment and approved it unanimously. The committee then moved to approve Expedited Bill 26-24 and recommend it to the full council for approval; that motion passed 3-0.

MCPD officials said the current workload does not exceed capacity but flagged potential need for additional resources if applications increase substantially. MCPD also described current practice when incidents occur outside Montgomery County: staff issue a denial letter and refer applicants to the appropriate local jurisdiction, explaining it is typically infeasible for MCPD to investigate crimes that occurred outside its legal authority.

With the amendment and committee recommendation, Expedited Bill 26-24 will advance to the full council for further consideration.