Anne Arundel County Council members decided Tuesday to postpone voting on a resolution that weighs in on a possible deal allowing the federal government to detain undocumented immigrants in local jail.
Council members voted 5-2 to hold the resolution until the council's Oct. 17 meeting at the request of Councilman Jerry Walker, R-Crofton, who said he wanted more time for answers from County Executive Steve Schuh's administration.
A spokesman for Schuh confirmed in June that the county is considering a federal request to use the Ordnance Road Correctional Center in Glen Burnie as a place to detain people found to be in the country illegally as they await deportation, asylum or other legal action.
Last month, Councilmen Chris Trumbauer, D-Annapolis, and Pete Smith, D-Severn, drafted a resolution asking the county not to enter into any agreement that would give the federal government that permission. They expressed concern that such a pact would strain the county's finances and incentivize local government to detain more immigrants in search of a larger paycheck.
"We would be entering into an agreement with the federal government that in some way is treating human beings like a commodity," Trumbauer said Tuesday.
Located off of Interstate 695 in northern Glen Burnie, the Ordnance Road facility is a medium-security jail that holds men and women who are serving terms of up to 18 months, as well as people who are awaiting trial. It currently has about 130 empty beds, according to county officials. The federal government would pay for any immigration detainees filling those beds.
Walker's focus was on "the cost and the resources that are going to be tied up" if a deal is struck.
The county's corrections department is currently short 38 positions that were included in this year's budget, according to County Auditor Jodee Dickinson. Most of those vacancies are detention officer jobs.
"We have resources that are already lacking as far as personnel," Walker said. "We can't even fill vacant slots."
He called on Schuh to include the council in deliberations over the potential deal, which administration officials say is still under negotiation.
Bernie Marczyk, Schuh's lobbyist, declined to comment on the talks.
"We're not taking a position on what is a hypothetical agreement," he said.
Other council members disagreed with the resolution's rejection of any agreement between the county and the feds.
"What I'm concerned with is we are saying, as a body, that we opposed anything, everything, and it doesn't matter what," said Council Chairman Derek Fink, R-Pasadena. "At the end of the day, we have no idea what the county executive's plan is." Councilmen John Grasso, R-Glen Burnie, and Michael Peroutka, R-Millersville, agreed.
Councilman Andrew Pruski, D-Gambrills, argued "there's something to be said about questioning an agreement in general."
Pruski, a government teacher, noted the state's constitution does not discuss immigration policy.
"I don't see that as the county or state's role. I'm just not so sure there's a legal foundation here," he said.
About a dozen members of CASA, an organization that assists and advocates for immigrants, showed up to listen to the debate.
The group's regional director for central Maryland, Elizabeth Alex, said CASA supports Trumbauer and Smith's resolution.
"We don't think Anne Arundel County should be in the business of immigration," she said. "I think what people are nervous about is the signal this sends, and the potential for this become a county that isn't welcoming to immigrants."
Walker said he plans to add amendments to the resolution — including a request that the council be allowed to approve any potential agreement — before it comes up for discussion again at the council's next meeting.
In other action:
•The council approved a new design for the county seal, which features a crisper and more historically accurate image. County officials said the updated seal wouldn't spark a wholesale replacement of existing seals, which are featured on signs, vehicles and stationery, among other items. Instead, the seal will change immediately online and will be updated on physical objects when they are replaced.
•Council members voted to reject a resolution allowing the county to sell off five acres of land at 5347 Deale Churchton Road in Churchton, which is currently owned by the Department of Recreation and Parks. Walker said constituents had approached him with concerns that the property could be subdivided and developed.
•Grasso's residential rehabilitation bill — which aims to incentivize devleopers and other property owners to demolish old homes and replace them with modern ones — was amended to include a five-year sunset provision, cap the starting value of eligible houses at $350,000 and change the application date for the incentive to June.
•The council approved several financial appropriations, including one that consolidates money from the county's 28 outfall projects into seven new projects grouped together by watershed. Officials say the new categories will make watershed restoration efforts more flexible.