Amid growing community support for immigrant protections, the Baltimore County Council passed a pair of bills known as the Trust Act in a 4-3, party line vote.

The legislation codifies the Office of Immigrant Affairs and limits the county’s ability to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

All four Democratic council members voted in favor of the legislation, while Republicans Wade Kach, David Marks and Todd Crandell voted against both bills.

Councilman Izzy Patoka, who introduced the Trust Act, told The Banner he was unable to add proposed amendments that would have negated part of the county’s controversial agreement with ICE.

The Pikesville Democrat said he was informed by Council Chairman Mike Ertel, before Monday’s meeting, that County Executive Kathy Klausmeier would veto the bill if it passed with those amendments.

“If [Klausmeier] does veto it, with the amendments, then we have nothing,” Patoka said. “So, I’m not willing to take that risk for communities that are already being marginalized by the federal government.”

To override the county executive’s veto, at least five council members — a supermajority — need to vote in favor of the legislation, according to the council’s charter.

What is the ICE agreement?

Patoka originally introduced the Trust Act in response to the county’s deal with ICE.

In October 2025 the county signed a memorandum of understanding with the immigration enforcement agency to remove itself from the federal government’s sanctuary jurisdiction list after President Donald Trump’s Justice Department informed the county that its place on the list endangered $660 million in federal funding.

The agreement memorializes a deal former County Executive Jonny Olszewski Jr. made, requiring the county corrections department to hold an individual in the county’s custody for up to 48 hours past their release date if ICE has a judicial immigration detainer for them.

Anyone with a nonjudicial detainer signed by an ICE administrative officer must be held for up to four hours past their release time, under the agreement.

Patoka’s amendments would have prohibited the county from detaining or extending the detention of anyone held by the county’s correction department with a nonjudicial detainer.

Baltimore County Attorney James Benjamin sent an email to all seven council members Monday afternoon warning them not to pass the amendments, according to a copy.

“The County Executive has expressed grave concerns about the amendments,” he wrote. “This puts at risk hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for the County.”

In a previous interview, Benjamin said the county has the authority to hold inmates up to 48 hours past their release dates based on federal regulations established in 1985.

In his email, Benjamin said the county is not violating detainees’ Fourth Amendment rights and the agreement with ICE requires the county only to notify ICE about detainees’ projected release dates, not to hold them.

However, the original agreement states inmates “shall be held in custody ... pending the transfer of custody to ICE agents.”

Future negotiation

Ertel said he wants to talk with Klausmeier to ensure that the corrections department is not holding inmates past their release dates.

However, the councilman said he was told by Klasumeier’s staff if the four Democrats voted for the Trust Act with Patoka’s amendments, the county executive would veto the bill to avoid jeopardizing federal funding.

“It would be a catastrophe to the county to lose that [money],” he said.

Dakarai Turner, a spokesperson for Klausmeier, did not directly address a question about why the county executive threatened to veto the Trust Act.

Patoka, who is running for county executive, said he was disappointed but cited the bills’ passage as a leap forward.

“Do I believe that Baltimore County should be acting on an administrative warrant signed by someone at ICE? Absolutely not,” he added. “We should not be doing that. Do I have the votes to make that happen? I do not. But I do have the votes to make progress.”

‘There’s more to do, but this is progress.’

The latest data from the county’s Office of Community Engagement shows there were at least 103,700 immigrants, 12.5% of the population, in the county as of 2019.

The Trust Act’s first bill formally established the Office of Immigrant Affairs, currently housed under the county executive’s office. The county allocated $235,000 in its budget this year to pay three employees who provide services to the immigrant community.

The second bill prohibits discrimination against anyone not born in the U.S. based on citizenship, nationality or immigration status. It also limits the county’s ability to question its residents’ citizenship, with some exceptions.

Those exceptions include: previously passed federal and state laws, county job applications, voter registration rolls and U.S. passport applications.

The bill does not prevent Baltimore County Police from assisting in criminal investigations or joint law enforcement task forces, if they are not enforcing civil immigration laws.

Turner commended the council for formalizing the Office of Immigrant Affairs, but emphasized that the second bill would not change existing county policy or operations.

“This is not perfect,” Patoka told supporters during the meeting. “There’s more work to do, but this is progress.”