The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to restrict some former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees from holding certain county jobs, a measure aimed at positions involving public interaction or control over public resources. The restriction targets people who worked for ICE after October 2025 and are seeking roles that county department and agency heads designate as sensitive.
What the Bill Covers
According to The Baltimore Banner, the legislation applies to most county departments, including health and human services, housing and community affairs, transportation, corrections and rehabilitation, fire and rescue services, and police. County department and agency heads will be responsible for determining exactly which roles within their agencies qualify as sensitive. The bill does not take effect immediately — it becomes law only once County Executive Marc Elrich signs it, and no signing date had been scheduled as of the vote.
Elrich has voiced support for the legislation, the outlet's report notes. Council member Kristin Mink, who introduced the bill in July, said sensitive positions include jobs involving public interaction or decisions about the distribution of public resources. She said the goal was to protect public trust in first responders, food and health care partners, libraries, and recreation centers.
Mink's Case for the Restriction
Mink has argued that former ICE employees had ample time to recognize the Trump administration's immigration actions as unconstitutional and violent before taking or keeping those jobs, a stance she voiced when the bill was introduced in July. Following Tuesday's vote, she said Montgomery County should take steps to defend residents and draw boundaries against the federal administration. An ICE spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening, per the same account.
Not everyone welcomed the measure. At an earlier public hearing, resident Esther Wells testified against the proposal, according to WJLA. “It creates an unwarranted and an extensive screening process for former federal law enforcement officers,” Wells said. County legislative documents reviewed by the station said that a rise in federal immigration-enforcement operations beginning in 2025 had prompted jurisdictions around the country to weigh similar hiring restrictions.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Blue States
Montgomery County is one of several jurisdictions that has moved forward with bills responding to increased ICE operations nationwide, the Banner's reporting notes. Bills introduced in at least four Democratic-led state legislatures this year sought to make some ICE employees ineligible for certain state or local government jobs, as reported by The Guardian. In Maryland, Delegate Adrian Boafo introduced the ICE Breaker Act, which would bar state police agencies from hiring people who joined ICE after January 20, 2025 — but that bill did not advance past its first committee hearing.
Not every such effort has succeeded. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 1896 last month, which would have disqualified people involved in immigration enforcement from city, county, and state agency jobs, including positions with police and sheriff departments, according to The Sacramento Bee. Newsom also vetoed a separate measure that would have barred federal law-enforcement officers involved in immigration enforcement from using their experience to qualify for a state training waiver.
With Elrich's signature still pending and no date set, the exact rollout of Montgomery County's restriction — including which specific roles get flagged as sensitive — remains to be determined by individual department and agency heads.
