‘We don’t want to be complicit’: Elrich shows support for immigration bills at ceremonial signing

ICE Out, Unmask ICE, Vehicle Recovery and County Values acts became law with county executive’s signature

June 2, 2026 11:45 a.m.

Immigration bill signing — Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) is pictured during a ceremonial bill signing at the Isiah "Ike" Leggett Executive Office Building in Rockville. Credit: Montgomery County, MD Flickr

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) reiterated his support Monday for four immigration-related bills that the County Council passed earlier this year — with councilmembers saying they will continue to advance additional proposals after returning from recess next week.

“We don’t want to be complicit in these activities, and we’re doing what we can to take ourselves out of a place where we are complicit,” Elrich said during a ceremonial bill signing at the Isiah “Ike” Leggett Executive Office Building in Rockville.

Defending county residents against the federal government’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies has been a key focus of the council in recent months. The bills at the center of Monday’s ceremony included:

The ICE Out Act, sponsored by Councilmember Evan Glass (D-At-large), to prohibit the county from issuing permits needed to build and operate privately owned immigration detention facilities;

The County Values Act, sponsored by Councilmember Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5), to prevent use of county-owned property as staging points for immigration enforcement operations;

The Unmask ICE Act, sponsored by Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large), to prevent law enforcement officers operating in the county from covering their faces with masks except under limited circumstances;

The Vehicle Recovery Act, sponsored by Councilmember Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4), to enable family members of those detained by immigration agents to recover vehicles from tow lots using commonly accepted forms of photo identification and documents demonstrating a relationship to the vehicle’s owner.

The council voted unanimously to pass the four bills, all of which Elrich signed in advance of Monday’s ceremony. The ICE Out Act took effect April 30. The Vehicle Recovery and Unmask ICE Acts took effect on May 7. The County Values Act will take effect July 6, according to the council’s Legislative Information Management System.

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Earlier this year, Elrich also signed the Trust Act — a law drafted by Council President Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) to prevent the county from entering into formal agreements with U.S. Immigration Enforcement (ICE) through the federal 287(g) program, among other changes.

During Monday’s bill signing ceremony, councilmembers said their work on immigration isn’t finished.

“We have to be bold, we have to take actions, and we have to go further than we thought we would have had to even just a few short years ago,” Mink said.

In April, Glass introduced a bill to add a layer of screening for county police officer applicants who have played a role in recent federal immigration enforcement efforts.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine