A Montgomery County Council member alleged Saturday that county firefighters violated the Trust Act by preparing to launch a rescue boat with federal immigration agents present near Cabin John earlier in the week.
District 5 Council member Kristin Mink said Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel violated the county law when they allowed ICE agents alongside them as they prepared to launch a boat on the Potomac River on Wednesday. The Trust Act prohibits county personnel from voluntarily cooperating with ICE.
Mink said she does not blame the firefighters, who had to think fast while facing a conflict between the Trust Act's prohibition on ICE cooperation and their duty to respond to life-safety emergencies. She called on the Council to clarify protocols for emergency responders caught in such unanticipated scenarios, according to a report published Saturday by The Banner Montgomery.
What happened on July 22
The incident began when ICE conducted a joint enforcement operation with U.S. Park Police along the Clara Barton Parkway near Lock 7. Two people abandoned their vehicle and fled toward the Potomac River after nearby protesters warned of ICE's presence, Montgomery Community Media reported.
MCFRS dispatched its swift water rescue team to the river near Lock 7 after receiving a report of a person in the water. Crews learned multiple individuals had entered the river. All individuals safely reached shore, and MCFRS conducted a secondary search before terminating operations, according to a joint statement issued Thursday by County Executive Marc Elrich and Council President Natali Fani-González.
Two people were arrested by ICE following the operation.
Conflicting accounts
Whether ICE agents were physically aboard MCFRS rescue boats remains unverified. Montgomery Community Media reported that at least one social media user claimed to have witnessed ICE personnel on the boats, but MCM noted the claim was unverified. MCFRS did not respond to MCM's requests for details.
The joint statement from Elrich and Fani-González maintained that MCFRS's role was "strictly limited to addressing the immediate life-safety hazards in the water" and that neither MCFRS nor Montgomery County Police participated in federal enforcement actions.
"Saving a life comes before everything else," the statement read. "Consistent with Montgomery County's Trust Act, neither MCPD nor MCFRS participates in federal civil immigration enforcement actions, but we will respond to any emergency situation in which immediate life safety assistance is needed."
What comes next
Mink has not announced a specific date for a Council review of Trust Act protocols for emergency responders. Separately, she is sponsoring Bill 29-26, the Community Trust in County Employees Act, which would restrict county agencies from hiring former ICE and Border Patrol officers. That bill addresses a distinct issue from the protocol question raised by the July 22 incident. A joint work session on Bill 29-26 is scheduled for Thursday, October 1.
