Concern over the scope of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions are being felt in Montgomery County, Maryland, according to county officials.
Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard told reporters Thursday that he’s heard reports of contractors “being stopped and engaged with” when going to federal properties.
“So, if you’re a contractor, if you’re doing landscaping, if you’re doing trash pickup and removal from a federal installation, you might expect to be stopped at this point,” Stoddard said.
Stoddard, who has served as a liaison between the county and officials with the Department of Homeland Security, said he recently met with the acting director of the Baltimore Enforcement and Removal Operations office. One of the concerns is that county officials are made aware of actions that are taken.
“We wouldn’t want there to be a mistaken incident where they were operating and we didn’t know it and we thought there was some sort of armed assailant situation,” Stoddard said.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, who’s been a vocal critic of ICE and the Donald Trump administration, said “Whether I like it or not, the agents are within their right to, obviously, arrest people who are here illegally.”
Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada said he has a “very good working relationship with the ICE special agents in charge,” and they do reach out about their activities.
Yamada said that while ICE carries out its enforcement actions, his promise is to provide public safety.
“I don’t care what language you speak, I don’t care what color your skin is, and I don’t care where you were born,” Yamada said. “I need every member of our community to feel safe, I need them to feel safe that they can report a crime, and I need them to feel safe that they can report being a victim of a crime.”
The county officials made their comments during Elrich’s weekly briefing with reporters.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
