The Immigrant Rights Collective photographs cars abandoned after ICE arrests in Prince George's and Montgomery counties. The group can shoot inside the vehicles because they are often left unlocked or have a window broken out. (Photo courtesy Immigrant Rights Collective)
By Steve Karesh
The Prince George’s County Council approved legislation last week that would make it easier for family members of those detained by ICE to retrieve their cars from impound lots.
The bill was introduced by Eric Olson, vice chair of the council.
“When people are detained by ICE, often it’s out of cars and/or other vehicles, and then those vehicles just get abandoned by the side of the road,” Olson said.
In instances where a vehicle is considered “abandoned” it gets towed to an impound lot. Currently, only the vehicle’s registered owner, or someone authorized by the owner with a signed and notarized letter, can retrieve the car.
This means a family can have their car back, and for many families, a car is a lifeline for getting to work, school or medical treatments.
“This measure ensures that someone who can prove that they live at that house or as a family member can access that vehicle,” Olson said. “In the past, it was only the person who’s on the title.”
The new law also requires police to notify a vehicle’s registered owner that a car has been impounded and where it is, even if that owner is in custody.
The Prince George’s County action follows passage of a similar law by the Montgomery County Council in April. That law, which passed unanimously, would allow tow lots to return cars to people who can show that the car’s owner is a member of their household, using documents like a lease or utility bill.
The Immigrant Rights Collective said that after their drivers were apprehended by ICE there were more than 50 cars left abandoned on the streets of Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, as reported by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.
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Originally published at Marylandmatters.Org