Councilman Izzy Patoka announces legislation to block ICE activity

Upward of 100 angry Baltimore County residents and advocates demanded answers and condemned County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s decision to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a rally Wednesday evening.

A memorandum of understanding, signed by County Administrator D’Andrea Walker last week, formalized a 2024 deal the previous county executive, Johnny Olszewski Jr., agreed to between the Baltimore County Department of Corrections and the federal government.

“It feels like the ground has shifted beneath us,” Maureen Wambui told the assembled crowd — bearing posters comparing President Donald Trump’s ICE to Adolf Hitler’s secret police.

Wambui, a proud Kenyan immigrant and Nottingham resident, spoke during Indivisible Baltimore County’s rally in front of the historic courthouse in Towson alongside the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, We Are Casa, a pastor from Woodbrook Baptist Church and Councilman Izzy Patoka.

The Pikesville Democrat, who is running to replace Klausmeier next year, used the rally to announce that he will introduce legislation during the Nov. 17 County Council meeting to limit ICE activity in Baltimore County.

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

The councilmember added that his bill would limit the county’s ability to cooperate with immigration enforcement authorities but said he needed public support to ensure the legislation receives the four votes required to pass the council.

Read full article: Baltimore County community slams Kathy Klausmeier over ICE agreement – The Baltimore Banner