By Adam Pagnucco.
Many rumors are circulating about activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration. Some rumors don’t pan out, but others do. (Check out how ICE agents menaced Council Member Kristin Mink last week.)
Yesterday, Senator Cheryl Kagan reported the following on Facebook.
Holy crap!!! Got this from a friend in Rockville:
ICE is pulling cars over on MacArthur Blvd and GW Parkway and pulling people out of their cars to see if they are illegal (sic– undocumented!!) and arresting them and putting the cars on the median to be towed in case you want to let people know…
One commenter noted that NBC4 reported similar activity on November 3.
I asked Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard, whose portfolio includes public safety, whether this rumor was true. This is his response.
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We have not confirmed this specific rumor. However, we strongly believe this is part of an ongoing collaborative enforcement effort between US Park Police and ICE. We have received numerous reports from the public over the last 6 weeks or so corroborating that collaboration.
US Park Police has long conducted enforcement of work vehicles along the roadways of their jurisdiction, including Clara Barton, the GW Parkway, and MacArthur Blvd. That enforcement has traditionally focused on roadway associated issues, such as making sure that equipment is secured in trucks and trailers are properly lighted and attached. With this new collaboration, ICE is conducting immigration enforcement as part of the work. For clarity, the County Police Department does not and will not participate in this effort or any other effort that includes an immigration enforcement. We also cannot prevent or prohibit such federal efforts.