Immigration

Immigration Action team

who we are

Mission and objectives

The Immigration Team of Indivisible Howard County aims to make our county a safe and supportive environment for immigrants. The team hopes to raise public awareness of immigrants’ and refugees’ rights and concerns in order to promote compassionate legislation.

2023 goals and plans

With the Liberty Act now law in Howard County our current focus is to

Educate Howard County residents, especially immigrants, about the Liberty Act.
Ensure that county employees are in compliance with the Liberty Act.

One way to educate the public is to provide pocket-size cards for individuals that state their rights. We are in the process of printing several thousand cards in English, Spanish, and several other languages.

HOW YOU CAN HELPYou can help by:

Attending an Immigration Team meeting.
Contacting one of the many immigrant groups in Howard County and offering to explain and distribute these cards
Offering to help with the cost of printing
Meeting with County employees to assure they are aware of and understand the basics of the Liberty Act.

TO LEARN MORE, TO BE ON OUR MAILING LIST, CONTACT ROZ ZINNER AT ROZZINNER@GMAIL.COM

history of the immigration team

2020-2021 Accomplishments

•Successfully lobbied to end Howard County’s contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

•Mobilized community support to pass Howard County Liberty Act protecting immigrant rights.

•Successfully lobbied the Human Rights Commission to make immigration status a protected class.

•Contributed to passing 2021 state bills:

Dignity Not Detention Act and Maryland Driver Privacy Act

The Liberty Act
December 10, 2020

“From Scott Peterson, Director of Communications, Office of Public Information, 202-277-9412

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Today, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball signed CB-63, The Liberty Act, which prevents County employees from asking about the immigration status of residents, discriminating based on immigration status, and requiring that certain information related to citizenship be kept confidential in Howard County. Additionally, Ball penned a letter to the Biden Administration Transition Team emphasizing the need for changes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and their current operations around the country.”

2021-2022 Goals and Plans

•Protect the Liberty Act from getting repealed in 2022

•Support the Howard County Council representatives Liz Walsh and Deb Jung who spearheaded immigrant rights legislation

•Join with other Indivisible groups nationally to advocate for pro-immigrant policies.

•Work to dispel negative myths about immigrants and educate the public about their positive contributions in Howard County and nationwide.

2022 accomplishments

With a lot of hard work by our group and others such as the Coalition for Immigrant Justice, the Liberty Act survived a recall effort and is now settled law.