As communities process recent executive orders from President Donald Trump, county residents are told that many changes do not immediately take effect.
In regard to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — which will be allowed to make arrests at schools, churches, and hospitals — the county has “operational-level” conversations with the agency, but many conversations are happening at the central office, not the operational level, Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Earl Stoddard said on Wednesday.
“And we’ll be waiting for guidance to be issued from the central office, and then it’ll be disseminated through all the regional offices and we’ll have a better sense of what the implications are, both in Maryland and across the country,” Stoddard said.
Stoddard said if raids happen anywhere in the country, “then we’ll understand a lot more about the possibilities that we could face in Montgomery County.”
If ICE agents eventually show up and conduct raids, County Executive Marc Elrich said the county will not stand in their way — “There’s no way to stop them from doing that if that’s the path they go down.”
There were some immediate changes under the recent executive orders, Stoddard noted, like diversity, equity, and inclusion changes, however other orders, like termination of birthright citizenship, require more development and communities will not know immediate implications until those guidelines are released.
