UPPER MARLBORO, Md. – A Maryland county council has voted to ban local agencies from engaging in immigration enforcement.

News outlets report the Prince George’s County Council unanimously voted Tuesday to pass the Act Concerning Community Inclusiveness.

The county police department opposed the bill, saying an existing policy already bars officers from assisting federal immigration authorities in a case unless there’s a court warrant authorizing them to do so. Several county residents were nevertheless placed in deportation proceedings after contact with county police.

Chief Hank Stanwinski has said those cases involving immigration were mistakes, and later joined County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks in issuing a clearer policy banning ICE cooperation. The executive’s spokesman, John Erzen, said he anticipates she will sign the bill into law.

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