Advocates want more anti-ICE action. Council members say they’re avoiding ‘performance art.’

The recent presence of federal immigration officers near a Gaithersburg summer camp sparked outrage and raised questions about whether the city should follow Montgomery County’s lead by passing laws meant to protect residents from deportations.

Gaithersburg resident and activist Tiffany Kelly said she wants city leaders to do more to ensure the safety of immigrants.

“The county has done it easily,” said Kelly, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor last year. “The county has made it clear that they stand with their residents. … [Gaithersburg leaders] absolutely have not done a great job to make sure that residents know they are supported.”

Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman and several members of the City Council said they don’t want to provoke the federal government or pass laws without teeth.

Council Vice President Neil Harris said it’s better to stay off the federal government’s radar.

“We are not doing performance art. We are trying to actually keep people safe,” he said. “In today’s politically charged environment, the last thing you want to do is say, ‘I double-dog dare you to come after us’ to the federal government, because they will come after you.”

Municipalities throughout Maryland often have their hands tied when it comes to challenging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ashman said in a statement.

There’s a disconnect, he added, between what “the general public thinks the county laws accomplish versus what they actually can accomplish.”

“Let’s have a reality check: County police are not going to be arresting ICE agents for staging operations on county property or for wearing masks,” he said.

Still, officials emphasized that Gaithersburg Police and city officials do not cooperate with ICE during immigration enforcement.

What happened at Bohrer Park?

Much is unknown about what happened when ICE officers showed up in the Bohrer Park Activity Center’s parking lot in late July, as parents and their children were walking into a summer camp.

The agency did not respond to multiple emails requesting information about ICE officers’ presence.

The park is the city’s property.

Early on July 28, ICE officers detained two adult sisters elsewhere in Gaithersburg. The officers were later seen in the Bohrer Park parking lot, according to the nonprofit We Are CASA, an immigrant advocacy group.

The Banner was unable to determine where the women are and if they face deportation.

The city’s response to ICE officers’ presence sparked a protest Friday near Gaithersburg City Hall.

Alex Vazquez, CASA’s Maryland organizing director, called city officials’ reactions “deeply disappointing and tone-deaf.”

Vazquez said leaders must take swift action in alignment with the city’s values.

“Establish clear, written protocols for any future federal enforcement presence on city property and provide transparent, timely communication to residents,” Vazquez said in a statement.

Montgomery County Council’s lead

The Montgomery County Council has passed several laws meant to protect immigrants from deportations and stifle ICE.

The existing anti-ICE laws apply to property owned or overseen by the county. They wouldn’t necessarily apply to all spaces in Gaithersburg.

In March, the council unanimously voted to pass legislation prohibiting the use of county-owned parking lots, garages and vacant lots for immigration enforcement.

The legislation, called the County Values Act, also requires a judicial warrant for ICE to access nonpublic areas of county facilities.

The county’s Trust Act, which passed in February, also requires judicial warrants for ICE activity at county facilities and prohibits voluntary cooperation with the agency.

In April, the council passed a bill to prohibit federal, state and local law enforcement officers from wearing masks or face coverings while on duty in Montgomery County.

Gaithersburg City Council member Yamil Hernández said in a statement that the city faces limitations.

“There are pieces of the county approach that I think are worth consideration, particularly signage, protection of nonpublic spaces, and further staff training around incident-response protocols,” he said. “But Gaithersburg is a municipal government with a different scale, expertise, legal authority, staffing capacity, and operational responsibilities.”

Council member Robert Wu, whose family members emigrated from China, said he’s worried about giving people a false sense of security.

“Would signs telling ICE they can’t use city property and banning them have prevented what occurred? Likely not. ICE has the lawful authority to enforce immigration law in Gaithersburg,” Wu said. “My ultimate fear is a resident relying on a proclaimed ‘No ICE’ area being arrested by ICE in those areas and there is absolutely nothing we could do about it.”