Prince George's County Council adopts package of immigrant-protection emergency bills and related resolutions
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Summary
The council unanimously approved a package of immigrant-protection measures and emergency acts — including guidance limits on immigration-enforcement access to county facilities, a verification service for residents, and restrictions on law-enforcement face coverings — and adopted resolutions urging agencies to protect public spaces and to compile a roster of ICE detainees.
Prince George's County Council members on April 7 enacted a set of bills and resolutions aimed at limiting local cooperation with some federal immigration-enforcement activities and expanding protections for residents.
The enacted measures included CB5–CB8 (a package described in the record as immigrant-protection bills), CB6-2026 (an emergency act directing the county to publish guidance related to immigration enforcement at county facilities and to develop signage templates), CB7-2026 (an emergency act allowing residents to request Prince George's County Police Department verification of immigration-enforcement agents and requiring police response and outreach), and CB8-2026 (an emergency act restricting law-enforcement officers from wearing face coverings that conceal their faces during public interactions). Sponsors named in the record included Olsen, Orietta/Oriada, Adams, Adam Stafford, Ivy, Denoga, Hunter, Blige, Harrison, and others.
Council members also adopted CR8-2026, urging local agencies (including the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Board of Education, library system, and community college) to prohibit the use of public property for civil immigration enforcement; and CR9-2026, which directs the county to partner with a local nonprofit to develop a roster of county residents believed to be in ICE or Customs custody. Committee reports noted the resolutions were proper in form and identified no direct fiscal impact for CR8; CR9 was described as using previously approved recreation-program appropriations transferred to a council-directed pilot.
No public speakers were listed for several of the emergency bills. For those items the council moved to enact on the record; roll-call votes were unanimously in favor (recorded as 11-0). The chair read public-emergency findings on the record for CB6–CB8, explaining the council's determination that threats to public health, safety and welfare justified emergency enactment.
Council members framed the package as protecting civil rights and public trust in county spaces and police interactions while also directing outreach and pilot programs to account for detainees. The motions to adopt the resolutions and enact the emergency bills were recorded as unanimous; the council directed appropriate staff and partner nonprofits to proceed with implementation steps described in the committee reports.
