The County Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to prohibit federal, state and local law enforcement officers from wearing masks or face coverings while on duty in Montgomery County.

The Unmask ICE Act was one of two immigrant protection bills the council passed Tuesday, and one of several the body has passed this year.

“The federal immigration enforcement that we’re seeing, happening here and across the country is not about keeping residents safe,” council member Will Jawando, the lead sponsor of the bill, said during Tuesday’s meeting.

“It’s about making people afraid and creating instability in our communities,” he added. “Indeed, the masks themselves contribute to that fear and instability.”

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Law enforcement officers on duty in the county will still be permitted to wear face coverings in some circumstances, including to protect themselves from smoke inhalation or when working undercover or on a SWAT team.

A rocky road to passage

Though the bill passed unanimously on Tuesday, council members fought over it in recent weeks.

Jawando introduced the bill in January, but the council tabled it while the state legislature considered a similar measure during its 90-day session.

Then in March, frustrated by inaction, Jawando tried to get his colleagues to fast-track the bill. The move sparked a fraught, and at times personal, debate on the typically cordial council.

But the council quickly advanced the Unmask ICE Act after the state legislature adjourned its session in early April. Lawmakers in Annapolis voted for a training and standards commission to develop a statewide policy on the issue.

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The council on Tuesday also unanimously passed a bill to make it easier for people to reclaim a towed car after a family member is detained by federal immigration enforcement officers while driving.

The council previously voted to restrict local law enforcement’s cooperation with ICE, limit ICE access to county-owned property and prohibit privately owned detention centers.

It will also consider requiring Montgomery County Police Department applicants to undergo a more detailed background review if they have taken part in the Trump administration’s immigrant enforcement efforts.

Council member Evan Glass, who introduced the bill on Tuesday, said it would “ensure that anyone that participated in this federal administration’s brutal treatment of immigrants is not tasked with keeping our communities safe.”