The Baltimore Banner · Antonio Planas · September 9, 2026
Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman and City Council members have in recent weeks resisted calls from activists for laws protecting immigrants from federal deportation efforts. They said they didn’t want to provoke U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or pass laws without teeth. One council member called such laws “ performance art ” that could backfire and provoke federal officials to make life worse for immigrants. But now Ashman and other local officials seem to have pivoted. In a statement sent to The Banner on Tuesday, Ashman said the city is evaluating state and county laws to deter ICE and that ICE’s presence in the city has stoked fear and uncertainty. “We support all measures that fall within the City’s legal authority and provide meaningful protection for our residents,” he said in the statement. “We welcome practical ideas from residents and community partners as we work to ensure every person in Gaithersburg feels safe, respected, and included.” A resolution reaffirming the city’s commitment to diversity and inclusion would be presented at Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting, Ashman added. Adopted by the council Tuesday night, the resolution said that Gaithersburg Police should not participate in federal immigration enforcement, and that city employees should not assist immigration officials who inquire about residents’ citizenship status. Shortly before the meeting, about 35 activists, including several teenagers, rallied outside Gaithersburg City Hall, demanding that the council pass anti-ICE laws aligned with the county’s . They said the legislation would at least show that the city is trying to stand up for immigrants. “I want to get ICE out of the community,” Gaithersburg resident Rob Sawers said. “They’ve been terrorizing people here and it’s unacceptable.” He called city officials’ claims that local laws to counter ICE are meaningless “a cop-out.” Gaithersburg resident Demitrius Henriquez, who identified as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America’s Montgomery County branch, said the city government “can put up a shield and make ICE feel unwelcomed and make Latino neighbors feel like they’re safe to the furthest extent possible.” Tuesday’s protest was the second since a July incident in which ICE officers were spotted in a city-owned parking lot at Bohrer Park. On July 28, officers detained two sisters elsewhere in Gaithersburg and were later seen at the park, where parents and children were arriving for summer camp. The rally was organized by We Are CASA, Montgomery County Immigrant Rights Collective, and the Black United Front. Alex Vazquez, We Are CASA’s Maryland organizing director, called the City Council’s resolution “a start.”