Montgomery County’s Illegal Immigrant Crime Problem

By Deborah Lambert

During the past several months, Montgomery County citizens have expressed a growing sense of frustration and anger toward Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, whose response to the fact that a growing number of illegal aliens had been charged with sex crimes was to sign an executive order that banned Montgomery County employees from asking about anyone’s immigration status.

For years, the widely accepted opinion in support of illegal aliens has been similar to that expressed by Councilman Tom Hucker (D-Silver Spring), who recently claimed that “There’s no correlation between the number of undocumented immigrants in a locality and the number of crimes there,” adding that “if anything, areas that have more undocumented immigrants typically have less crime.” 

However, an Issue Brief released in September 2019 by FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform), revealed that “Montgomery County’s skyrocketing crime rate is directly tied to the massive numbers of illegal aliens and its status as a sanctuary jurisdiction.” 

Matt O’Brien who authored the FAIR report, stated that Montgomery County “has simply made itself far too attractive to illegal aliens by declaring itself to be a sanctuary jurisdiction.         

Using “data analysis from the federal government’s State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) initiative, which reimburses state and local jurisdictions for incarcerating criminal aliens, the FAIR Report reveals that they are at least three times as likely to be incarcerated, compared to citizens and lawfully present aliens.”

FAIR believes that the reason for these statistics is that “Montgomery County has been working overtime to turn itself into a magnet for illegal aliens, many with ties to criminal gangs and drug trafficking organizations.”

Question: What exactly is going on in Montgomery County?

Answer: Sanctuary supporters claim that if law enforcement officials are viewed as “immigration agents,” it will prevent witnesses from speaking up to help police. Since “Montgomery County has proudly announced that it is a sanctuary jurisdiction that does not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), their highly publicized situation has attracted “an unsavory cast of illegal aliens who are engaging in a higher than average number of crimes.”

However, the FAIR Report reveals that the reason this approach does not work in Montgomery County or anywhere else is that “the vast majority of illegal aliens come from countries where law enforcement officials are either corrupt or serve as a tool of state oppression. They do not suddenly begin trusting American police officers because of sanctuary policies.”

And that’s not all.

The fact is that not only are “gangs inextricably tied up with criminal activities in illegal alien neighborhoods, but the vicious gangs such as MS-13 that are “running rampant in Montgomery County often exact retribution from anyone who is viewed as collaborating with law enforcement, and have no interest in cooperating with any law enforcement entity.”

There’s more.

• “Since a sanctuary jurisdiction is one where illegals are less likely to cooperate with law enforcement, this results in a chilling effect when fewer residents may ask for help from officers who appear to “enforce certain laws against certain law breakers under certain conditions.”

On September 13th, a “Community Rally to Protect our Families and Children” that was held on the steps of the county courthouse in Rockville, MD attracted an outpouring of several hundred MOCO citizens, who expressed strong support for ICE, along with several high profile speakers, including Michelle Malkin, Sebastian Gorka, Tom Fitton, WMAL talk show host Larry O’Connor, and Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman Alexander Bush, who offered words of inspiration, and support to the patriotic crowd of concerned Montgomery County citizens. 

Here’s the bottom line:

“Consistent, open enforcement of our immigration laws demonstrates to all members of American communities that this is a nation of laws where criminal behavior is not tolerated. Sanctuary policies just result in state and local agencies aiding and abetting illegal aliens as they continue to violate our immigration laws. In addition, tolerating illegal immigration and providing a ‘safe haven’ for illegal aliens is unfair to those immigrants who respect our nation's laws and waited in line for years to come to the U.S. legally.

“It is time for Montgomery County to put an end to its illegal alien crime wave and start focusing on the interests of law-abiding U.S. citizens and legal immigrants who live within its boundaries.”

For more information and/or a copy of this report, contact FAIR.