ICE Raids: Montgomery Police Won't Assist In Immigration Sweep

SILVER SPRING, MD — Montgomery County Police on Saturday said it will not cooperate with federal agents attempting to arrest migrant families for deportation.

The department's announcement comes after President Donald Trump decided to postpone a planned U.S Immigration and Custom Enforcement raid targeting undocumented immigrants. The nationwide sweep was slated for June 23, but was put on hold for two weeks, according to Trump, so Democrats could come up with an immigration deal.

"In reference to President Trump's recent tweets and media reports, the Montgomery County Department of Police will not participate with ICE regarding any immigration enforcement efforts next week or at any other time," the department wrote on Twitter.

Explaining their decision, authorities said the ICE raid is a national issue, not a local issue. They also added that the force has "not received any requests from the federal government or ICE for their planned enforcement."

On June 17, Trump announced that ICE would remove "millions of illegal aliens" who've made their way into the U.S. Since then, multiple elected officials across the country — including Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and Council President Nancy Navarro — have chided Trump's remarks and assured residents that local law enforcement will not partake in these raids.

"The president's recent assertion that he will instruct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal authorities to raid or round up immigrants has, once again, caused concern, fear and disruption in our community," Elrich and Navarro said in a joint statement. "This type of punitive action has become routine for the Trump administration, and we will continue to protect the civil rights of our community members."