Baltimore County Councilman Izzy Patoka, saying he is choosing love over hate, introduced two bills that would set aside resources and establish protections for immigrants living in the county.

The Pikesville Democrat, who is running for county executive, said during Monday’s meeting that he was inspired by his faith to propose the separate pieces of legislation.

“One of the core tenets of my faith is to welcome the stranger,” said Patoka, who is Jewish. “Not to lock yourself inside your own community.”

The first bill would establish an Office of Immigrant Affairs — codifying a commission that already exists in County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s administration, according to a draft copy.

That office would provide resources to, and advocate on behalf of, Baltimore County’s immigrant community.

The second bill would prohibit any county employee, department or agency from discriminating against anyone not born in the United States based on citizenship, nationality or immigration status, according to a draft copy.

Additionally, if passed, the bill would allow county police officers to participate in federal or state task forces that enforce immigration solely based on criminal, not civil, activity.

The legislation also would require all county departments to develop publicly available policies and annual reports, including reports of violations.

Patoka said he crafted both bills with help from CASA, a nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization.

Enforcement mechanism and previous agreements

Both bills would require the votes of four other councilmen to pass.

If the legislation about discrimination becomes law, violations can be reported to the county’s HR director, administrative officer, attorney or potential head of the Office of Immigrant Affairs.

Last month, Patoka spoke during a rally outside the historic Towson courthouse to condemn the Klausmeier administration for memorializing an agreement that former County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. made with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to hold inmates at the Baltimore County Detention Center past their release dates.

“My parents were Holocaust survivors,” Patoka said during the November rally. “They came to this country as immigrants, and this is the same thing that’s happening today.”

According to both the original agreement and memorandum of understanding, or MOU, the corrections department is required to hold an individual for up to 48 hours if a federal judge has signed an immigration detainer for anyone under the county’s custody.

If anyone in county custody has a non-judicial detainer, then Baltimore County corrections officials must hold the individual for at least four hours.

The agreement also stipulates that the county is encouraged “to provide ICE with a forty-eight-hour notice” of any detainee’s release.

It does not appear that either of Patoka’s bills, if passed, would change the county’s MOU with ICE.

Opposition to Patoka

Tim Fazenbaker, a Republican candidate for the Baltimore County Council, spoke during the public comment period at Monday’s meeting to strongly oppose Patoka’s legislation.

“Sanctuary status or anything like it would violate federal immigration enforcement and invite chaos,” he said. “Worse, by refusing to cooperate, we risk losing approximately $500 million in federal funding.”

The Dundalk resident conflated immigration with criminality and cautioned that non-U.S. citizens endanger the Baltimore County community.

“Bring in the Third World, we risk becoming the Third World,” Fazenbaker said. “More crime, strained housing and overwhelmed resources taken from our poor, our elderly and our children.”

Patoka thanked Fazenbaker for his testimony and acknowledged to his fellow councilmen and the rest of the audience that he understood his legislation would evoke strong emotions.

“In my experience, the two extreme emotions that we have are love and hate,” the councilman said. “And so, I’m going to choose to move forward with these two bills with the emotion of love and I’m going to push back against your emotion of hate.”

The council will discuss Patoka’s bills during work sessions on Tuesday, Jan. 13, and Tuesday, Jan. 27.

There will be a final reading and vote on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026.