Mark Antony Briseno, a senior at Seneca Valley High School, said his life changed forever when his father was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year while running an errand at Home Depot in Silver Spring.

His father, the family’s primary breadwinner, had lived in the country since 1989. But he struggled to finalize his citizenship papers. Briseno said his father had to sleep on the floor in detention and was prevented from using the bathroom. Now, Briseno fears his mother could also be detained.

“I’m 17. I should be focused on college, car payments and spending time with my friends. But instead, I’ve been forced to grow up overnight,” he told the Montgomery County Council during a public hearing Tuesday.

Brisano was one of dozens who packed the council’s Rockville chamber during the public hearing on a bill to make it harder for federal immigration agents to detain and deport county residents.

The Promoting Community Trust Act, sponsored by Council President Natali Fani-González, and Vice President Marilyn Balcombe, with support from all nine other council members, is a response to the Trump administration’s efforts to deport millions.

The bill would:

• Prohibit voluntary, warrantless cooperation with ICE, including detainers, notifications and transfers
• Restrict ICE access to county buildings without a judicial warrant signed by a judge
• Prohibit discrimination by county agencies based on several protected classes, including immigration status
• Prohibit the use of county resources, including staff time, funds and information systems from being used to support civil immigration enforcement
• Prevent the collection of immigration status by county agencies unless required by state or federal law.

It would also update and codify current county policies on immigration, including a 2019 executive order from County Executive Marc Elrich. He said making the order law would prevent a future county executive from taking it off the books.

Invoking Renee Good

More than 35 people testified during the public hearing. Several invoked the death of Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman who was shot and killed by an ICE agent Wednesday. They talked about how federal efforts to detain and deport immigrants had made life harrowing for immigrants in the county, where as many as 35% of residents were born abroad, according to 2024 U.S. Census data.

Nicole Iserd, a local educator, said some school social workers have been taking some children to medical appointments because their parents are frightened to leave their homes.

“We say we want our children to thrive. We want them to read on grade level and excel in math,” Iserd said through tears. “In what world does that happen when children are grieving the disappearance of their parents?”

Omar Lazo, a small-business owner and president of the Montgomery County Latino Restaurant Association, said he has spoken to colleagues who are terrified to operate their businesses or are losing employees because of ICE actions.

“Small businesses are the backbone of this county, and many of them are immigrant [owned],” Lazo said. “When immigrants are afraid, our entire local economy suffers.”

While the vast majority of Tuesday’s speakers urged the bill’s passage, it had its detractors. Stacey Sauter of Potomac said she worries the legislation would “have significant consequences for taxpayers” and would require residents to “shoulder the financial burden of … sanctuary policies without clear disclosures of costs.”

“Compassion without accountability invites exploitation,” Sauter said.

In other communities, but not Montgomery County, ICE officers have detained alleged undocumented residents in courthouses, and law enforcement has participated in the 287(g) program, which enlists local police, sheriffs and jails in enforcing immigration laws.

But ICE agents have had a strong presence in the county and across the state.

Montgomery County schools lost about a dozen students who were deported or left the country with their deported parents since the beginning of this school year, according to CASA, a nonprofit that supports immigrants rights.

Council member Kristin Mink said an ICE officer “grabbed” her arm and tried to take her phone in November as she filmed a team of agents in Adelphi who appeared to be detaining a person.

And in Glen Burnie, an incident led to ICE agents shooting two people who were later hospitalized.

A joint work session meeting of the council’s Public Safety and Government Operations committees is scheduled for Jan. 28. The full council will take a final vote on the legislation at a later date.