FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Contact: Diana Castaneda, [email protected], (240) 515-5561
Activists Applaud Prince George’s Racial Equity in Policing Proposal to Protect Immigrant Families and Promote Community Trust
Prince George’s County, MD – Community leaders applauded today’s introduction before the Prince George’s County Council of an equity in policing proposal that eliminates collaboration between the Prince George’s County and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). When it becomes law, communities will be safer and residents will be protected from deportation.
“CASA thanks Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks’ leadership in taking the first step by passing a general order preventing police civil collaboration with ICE,” said CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres. “We’re also grateful for the leadership of Prince George’s County Council member Deni Taveras, as well as her four co-sponsors, Calvin Hawkins, Tom Dernoga, Jolene Ivey and Danielle Glaros in taking the next step to make this law a reality.”
The equity in policing bill aims to reaffirm the current County policy and improve community trust by ensuring that immigrant and other vulnerable communities can engage with County departments, including public safety departments, with assurance that such engagement will not be used to assist any civil immigration enforcement or federal discriminatory practice.
“It is especially important that all County residents feel safe contacting police and other County law enforcement officials without fear that such contact could lead to negative consequences for themselves or their family members. Councilmember Taveras’s legislation, together with Ms. Alsobrooks’s executive-level push to help ensure county police officers aren’t focused on helping ICE deport people solely based on their immigration status, are steps in the right direction in improving community-police relations in the county,” said Greenbelt City Councilmember Colin Bryd.
“I’m so happy to hear about this new proposal. I’ve been scared of the police for 20 years since I arrived here,” said Prince George’s County resident Maria Osequeda. “With the passage of this legislation, I will feel more comfortable working with them.”
CASA wants to recognize its extraordinary partners that drove this legislation forward: Life After Release, Peace and Justice Coalition, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Prince George’s County Education Association, Greenbelt People Power, ACLU Maryland, Progressive Maryland, and the Liberian Community Association. Together, this coalition has advocated for several proposals to improve policing in the County including the use of body cameras and ensuring that racial profiling is not a factor in addressing crime.
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With over 100,000 members across the states of Maryland, Virginia, and South Central
Pennsylvania, CASA is the largest member-based Latino and immigrant organization in the
mid-Atlantic region. CASA organizes with and litigates on behalf of low-wage immigrants.
Visit us at www.wearecasa.org and follow us on Twitter at @CASAforall
