Council considers bills to deny county jobs to federal immigration agents
Legislation from Glass focuses on prospective police officers; Mink pushing for broader hiring prohibition
By
Ceoli JacobyJuly 15, 2026 12:08 p.m.
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The Montgomery County Council is considering two bills that would deny county employment to individuals who have recently worked for federal government agencies tasked with enforcing immigration law, with a public hearing for one of the two held Tuesday.
Councilmember Evan Glass (D-At-large) is sponsoring the Continued Excellence in Public Service Act, which seeks to weed out county police applicants who have “violated an individual’s constitutional rights” while enforcing immigration law on or after Jan. 21, 2025 — President Donald Trump’s first full day in office.
Glass has said his goal in introducing the bill is to “make sure public safety remains safe in Montgomery County.”
Councilmember Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5) is advocating for a broader prohibition on hiring anyone who has worked for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection after October 2025, regardless of their conduct in that role.
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“Realistically, there is not a vetting process that will tell us which people have been out on the streets masked and kidnapping people,” Mink told Bethesda Today in a Tuesday interview. The county recently banned mask-wearing by law enforcement officers except in limited circumstances.
The hiring prohibition spelled out in the Community Trust in County Employees Act would apply to public-facing positions and positions that entail “decision-making authority over access to or distribution of public resources” within direct services agencies.
In addition to the police department, direct services agencies include Montgomery County Recreation, Montgomery County Public Libraries, Regional Services Centers, the Transportation Department and the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, among others.
In written testimony supporting Mink’s bill, the Maryland-based advocacy group We Are CASA wrote that fear of detention and deportation have fundamentally changed how immigrant community members engage — or choose not to engage — with government services.
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“Families who fear local government are less likely to seek medical care, report crimes, enroll their children in programs, access housing assistance, or turn to county agencies in times of need,” the group wrote. “This harms not only immigrant communities but the health, safety, and well-being of Montgomery County as a whole.”
In a Tuesday email to Bethesda Today, county spokesperson Joe Dominguez said the county does not currently track whether its employees have previously worked for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
As such, Dominguez said, it is not possible to determine if any recent hires were involved in immigration enforcement after October 2025.
During a June 9 public hearing on Glass’ bill, Montgomery County Police Assistant Chief Nicholas Augustine said the department “has not experienced instances of misconduct by an MCPD officer whose prior employment history would have fallen under the circumstances of this legislation.”
“Our current hiring and background investigative process have been effective at identifying and screening applicants who do not meet our employment standards,” Augustine said.
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Esther Wells, the Republican nominee for county executive, was the only person to oppose both Glass’ and Mink’s bills during public hearings. She was one of two people who spoke at Tuesday’s hearing on Mink’s bill.
“As an immigrant, I understand that true community trust comes from safe neighborhoods and fully-staffed public safety departments,” said Wells, who is from Trinidad and Tobago.
“If someone is unfit for employment, why create a screening process? And if a screening process can identify qualified candidates, why impose a blanket ban?” Wells continued. “These two bills are inconsistent, incoherent and suggest that this council has not thought through the practical consequences of its own policies.”
Glass’ bill does not have co-sponsors. Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large), the Democratic nominee for county executive who will face Wells in the Nov. 3 general election, is co-sponsoring Mink’s bill.
County Executive Marc Elrich (D) has yet to weigh in on either proposal. According to Dominguez, the administration is preparing to provide feedback when the council’s Public Safety Committee meets to review both bills on Oct. 1.
If either bill is approved by the committee, it would advance to the full council for a vote.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine