Due to legal concerns, Montgomery County officials have canceled a plan to create a list of on-call “emergency foster families” who can take in children if parents are detained by immigration officials.
The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services hoped to launch a new initiative for immigrant families that would have created a list of local families willing to temporarily house children.
The plan was inadvertently announced to an internal group in early July, Health and Human Services Spokeswoman Mary Anderson said, but officials learned later the emergency list is not legally feasible. The information spread via social media through early August.
“We had to pull back on that request because when we double-checked with the county attorney [staff], they said we don’t have a mechanism for vetting people on an emergency basis,” Anderson said.
To be a foster family, people have to undergo a thorough background check, attend training and have their home inspected, Anderson said, a process that takes several weeks.
Health and Human Services received about 30 calls from people interested. Anderson said those families were encouraged to consider applying to be regular foster families.
There are about 200 foster families in Montgomery County now, “and we’re always looking for more,” she said.
County officials have drafted guidelines for plans families should have in place “just in case” they are detained.
The plan suggests that immigrant families research and know what their rights are — like the right to refuse to speak with immigration enforcement agents who do not have a warrant — and attempt to obtain citizenship.
The guidelines say families should identify a “responsible adult” to watch a child if the parents are unable and create an agreement with that person. They also should create a file of important documents the caregiver might need, update emergency contact information and explain the emergency plan to the child.
A list of county resources available to undocumented residents is available online, including legal services providers and emergency hotlines.
Tensions about possible ICE raids in Montgomery County have flared in recent weeks as reports have surfaced of raids planned across the nation.
Last week, Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando posted a photo to Facebook of a “notice” posted on the door of a Silver Spring apartment complex alleging ICE raids would occur Aug. 2.
In his post, Jawando said the post was a “hoax meant to upset residents.”
In July, community members alleged ICE agents were at the Silver Spring Metro station attempting to detain undocumented immigrants.
Justine Whelan, a spokeswoman for ICE did not confirm or deny the claim, but said officers “certainly aren’t indiscriminately engaging individuals at Metro stations.”
“I will say that ICE officers routinely conduct targeted enforcement actions based on specific and gathered intelligence and investigative leads in an effort to apprehend specific individuals believed to be in violation of federal immigration law,” Whelan wrote in an email to Bethesda Beat at the time.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
