Montgomery County officials announce Trust Act to codify immigrant protections

Montgomery County Council President Natali Fani-González announced a proposed Trust Act on Monday that would put long-standing county practices limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement into law.

The measure, officials said at a Rockville news event, would formally prohibit discriminatory practices, restrict the use of county resources for federal immigration enforcement, and ensure county services and benefits remain accessible to residents regardless of immigration status. "We need to codify the protections that we have been given through a long time," Natali Fani-González said.

County Executive Marc Elrich said the bill would convert his 2019 executive order into statute. "I'm proud to stand with the council members and advocates today to essentially put into law our executive order that I issued in 2019," Elrich said, adding that the action is intended to make those protections permanent.

Police Chief Mark Yamada said the Montgomery County Police Department does not enforce immigration law, describing the department's focus as crime detection, prevention and building community trust through constitutional policing. "The Montgomery County Police Department has not and does not enforce immigration law," he said.

Community advocates who spoke at the event described fear among immigrant families after recent federal immigration enforcement actions. A community advocate said "violent ICE activity has been happening in our neighborhoods" and asserted that "currently, 3 students are detained," and that "several school families have already self deported because the fear became too overwhelming." Those claims were voiced to illustrate local concerns; the announcement did not include independent confirmation of detention counts beyond the speaker's statement.

A representative of the Maryland Public Defender's Office said the office stood with county partners "not because it's a political issue, but because this is an issue about humanity and dignity for everyone that's in our community." Marchesa Salo, the reporter at the event, summarized that officials and advocates emphasized building trust between immigrant communities and local government to keep families safer and strengthen public confidence.

The Trust Act will be formally introduced at the next Montgomery County Council meeting, officials said. No formal text or council agenda item was attached to the announcement; council consideration, committee referrals, and any future votes will determine whether the measure becomes law.