Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairwoman Jamila Winder and Chairman Neil Makhija are pictured during a May 15, 2025 Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting. (Rachel Ravina – MediaNews Group).
Montgomery County issued new policy guidance on Wednesday for employees concerning contact with federal immigration operatives.
Directed by Montgomery County Chief Operating Officer Lee Soltysiak, the Wednesday morning memo instituting “policy on county interactions with federal immigration authorities” aimed to ensure the roughly 3,000 employees are well versed on protocol ranging from engagement to information sharing.
“It is county policy to require warrants or judicially authorized subpoenas prior to providing information regarding individuals to federal immigration agents. No employee shall release any individual’s information — including name, work or home address, immigration status-related information, country of origin, program participation, appointment scheduled — to any federal immigration officer without consultation with, and approval by the county solicitor’s office,” according to documents obtained by MediaNews Group.
The blueprint was touched on during a Wednesday morning Montgomery County Commissioners’ meeting as county commissioners have received swift criticism in recent weeks to enact more stringent legislation protecting undocumented individuals. Advocates and others from the local immigrant communities have repeatedly asked commissioners to adopt a Welcoming County Act policy amid ongoing federal immigration crackdowns.
Memo Clarifies Approach
“It details how our employees would not share information with federal agencies unless required by law and/or accompanied by a judicial warrant. This ensures we maintain our commitment to the rule of law, to due process, to protecting the privacy and dignity of every individual,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairman Neil Makhija.
Makhija identified several steps taken to support immigrants in Montgomery County as he spotlighted the hiring of former ACLAMO CEO and Executive Director Nelly Jiménez-Arévalo to serve as the new county director of immigrant affairs. Jiménez-Arévalo was brought on in mid-March, tasked with a myriad of immigration responsibilities through advocacy, resource coordination and policy development for immigrants, refugees, and those new to the county.
Montgomery County has an estimated population of 868,742 people, according to July 2024 Census figures, with additional statistics from datausa.io revealing that roughly 10.8 percent of county residents “were born outside of the country” as of 2022. Officials estimated the county’s immigrant population at more than 100,000 people.
Supporting Immigrants
More than 100 people gathered in Norristown on June 7 to protest against the recent escalation of enforcement activity in and around the municipality and large crowds formed outside the Montgomery County Courthouse during a June 14 No Kings Montgomery County PA rally where demonstrators protested against a number of Trump Administration policies, including immigration.
“We are also making sure that we show members of our immigrant community that we’re here to support them, and at the same time inform both members of our staff and the community that there are laws in place that will be enforced,” Makhija said. “We are going to support due process, but the law is what the law is, and unless we change it federally, that’s the position we’re in today.”
“We’ve taken seriously the concerns that many have had in Montgomery County around immigration and some of the challenges that we’re seeing unfold in our communities,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairwoman Jamila Winder.
Makhija and Winder underscored the importance of the policy change amid escalating immigration enforcement activity in and around the county seat of Norristown. Advocates estimated last week that at least 25 individuals have been detained.
Makhija and Winder, both Democrats, penned an op-ed last month vowing not to deputize local law enforcement to carry out federal immigration enforcement actions, and asserted they “followed through on that promise” with the employee-focused immigration policy issuance in a joint statement issued on Wednesday.
“It directs county employees not to share information with federal agencies unless required by law and/or accompanied by a judicial warrant,” Makhija and Winder said. “It provides direction to our employees on how to manage visits from federal agents to public or non-public areas of the county buildings. And it reemphasizes our commitment to not collect or ask for any information related to immigration-status unless required by federal or state law.”
Prison Policy Reversal
The announcement came a week after the Montgomery County Correctional Facility amended immigration-related protocols as advocates and area residents have been in an uproar regarding detentions at the correctional facility, including a 31-year-old woman arrested earlier this month in East Norriton Township who was transported to the Eagleville-based facility and transferred to ICE custody after posting a $77 bail.
Warden Sean McGee said the facility would no longer adhere to previously established guidelines to hold individuals without judicial warrants on a four-hour “detainer” at the request of U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement agents.
“Part of that process is to request or require a judicial warrant for immigration control, which would expand the pick-up time with that warrant to 24 hours,” McGee said during a June 12 Montgomery County Board of Prison Inspectors meeting.
Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello, the board’s lone Republican commissioner, acknowledged the policy on Wednesday. DiBello previously disclosed his stance on immigration to MediaNews Group, stating he “[doesn’t] support the harboring of illegals,” but is “supportive of immigrants who come through the legal channels.”
DiBello maintained he’s “all for following the law” in his comments during Wednesday’s meeting, and said he needs to familiarize himself further with the updated language before making a public determination on the matter.
“Most of what’s written in the policy is pretty much already law … or operating procedures that are already in place by the county, but there’s a few changes that I need to look into, and I need to look and compare that to the immigration the format that was signed by President Clinton several years ago, because there may be some conflicts as far as what’s stated in that law and what the responsibilities are of federal authorities and enforcement of federal law when it comes to illegal immigration,” DiBello said, referring to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
Montgomery County Solicitor Benjamin Field affirmed “the policy is clear about compliance in law.”
The next Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 16 on the eighth floor of One Montgomery Plaza, 425 Swede St. in Norristown. Those interested in attending the meeting can also do so virtually. Visit montgomerycountypa.gov for more information.
