A Potomac River rescue during an ICE operation has renewed debate over Montgomery County’s Trust Act and firefighters’ role during federal enforcement actions

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County’s new Trust Act, which bars county first responders from assisting with federal immigration enforcement, is drawing renewed scrutiny after a recent water rescue on the Potomac River.

The debate follows a July incident in which Montgomery County Fire and Rescue crews responded to search for three people in the river while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were conducting an enforcement operation nearby, WUSA9 reported.

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The Department of Homeland Security said ICE agents detained two Mexican nationals who were in the country illegally along the riverbank. A third person entered the Potomac River and remained missing after swimming across the waterway.

The Trust Act limits cooperation between state and local agencies and federal immigration authorities. Fire and EMS crews, however, must protect lives and are required to coordinate with law enforcement during rescues connected to police operations.

Fire and rescue officials said crews responded only to assess the scene and left after determining no one was in the water.

The incident has prompted some local leaders and residents to question whether the Trust Act should be revisited. At the same time, county officials have maintained that firefighters and EMS personnel remain focused on their primary mission of protecting lives during emergencies, regardless of the circumstances surrounding an incident.

“I really don’t want the headline on this to be fire rescue broke the Trust Act,” County Councilmember Kristin Mink said. “What this scenario showed is that it’s going to be very hard to predict what type of circumstances we’re going to be faced with.”

The Montgomery County Career Fire Fighters Association, IAFF Local 1664, sent a letter to County Executive Marc Elrich and County Council President Kate Stewart criticizing the response to the incident, arguing the focus had shifted from firefighters’ duty to protect lives to debates over immigration policy.

Mink said her comments were not directed at first responders but at county leaders, urging them to consider how the law could affect law enforcement operations in other situations.

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