Dear Friends,
What the Supreme Court did on Thursday with a pair of decisions that made the immigration process more difficult is shameful. This is effectively a deliberate unraveling of lives people spent years building here, legally and in good faith. The Supreme Court ruled that it won’t even examine whether this administration followed the law when it stripped Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from our Haitian and Syrian neighbors. It shut the courthouse door and, in doing so, pulled away the legal protection that stood between every other TPS holder in this country and the same fate.
This case centered on our Haitian neighbors, but it touches every one of the more than 33,000 Marylanders allowed to be in the Country through TPS. People from El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela, Syria, Somalia, and beyond are impacted. Many have been here for decades. They pay taxes, raise children who are U.S. citizens, and keep our hospitals, job sites, and restaurants running. Now they have been told they can be sent back to countries that are not safe.
Let me say plainly what this means. Losing TPS means losing your work permit and your legal right to be here. Someone who has lived here for years, with a home, a job, and children, can now be detained and deported at any time. These are not numbers on a page. They are our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends. What’s being done to them is cruelty dressed up as policy, and I will not call it anything else.
The Court also dealt a second blow in its decisions released Thursday, ruling the government can turn away people seeking asylum before they ever set foot on U.S. soil, denying families fleeing violence and persecution the chance to even ask for safety. Seeking asylum is not a crime. It is a right written into our laws and grounded in the most basic human decency. A country that turns its back on people at their most desperate is not living up to who we say we are. Montgomery County will remain a place where people fleeing harm are met with dignity, not a closed door.
Here is what does not change. Montgomery County will not ask about your immigration status when you come to us for help. Our local laws keep county resources out of federal deportation efforts. And our health and human services remain open to every resident, whatever their status. We can’t undo a decision made in Washington, but no one here will face it alone.
If you or someone you love has TPS, do not panic or act on rumors. We’re still working through exactly what this ruling means for our residents, and we will share clear guidance as soon as we have it. In the meantime, check your country’s current status at uscis.gov, talk to a trusted legal provider before making any decisions, and reach out to us. Call or visit the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center website to get accurate information and real help.
And this fight isn’t over. TPS was only meant to be temporary; the real fix is permanent, and it has to come from Congress. We will keep pushing for immigration laws that are fair, that keep faith with people fleeing danger, and that finally allow those who have given decades to this country to stop living in fear. That’s work for all of us, at the ballot box and beyond.
Election Results
I am deeply appreciative of those who supported me for the at-large County Council seat. The trust that voters have placed in my ability to serve them in our County government is something I take seriously and never take for granted.
I want to congratulate Councilmember Will Jawando, the presumptive Democratic nominee to be the next County Executive. Will should be a great County Executive and continue the progress that we are making on affordability, housing, living wages, providing resources to those most vulnerable, as well as investing in our children and older adult populations.
I am also proud of the people-powered grassroots campaign that Will ran, especially in the face of the dirty politics funded by developers, venture capitalists, and hedge fund managers, many whom don’t live in or do business in Montgomery County.
I am very concerned about the tactics employed by certain dark-money political action committees (PAC) and their misinformation campaigns. I’ve been the target of it myself in past elections. It appears that, once again, the developers and other corporate interests involved have failed to buy off the County government, but not for lack of trying or of spending millions of dollars.
It was also distressing to see a fake sample ballot claiming to represent Montgomery Democrats. It was created to resemble something that could have come from the Democratic Party, which does not endorse in primaries. That should not have happened, and it shouldn’t happen again. It was really disappointing.
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I also want to congratulate our Congressional delegation nominees. Specifically, Rep. April McClain-Delaney’s race, which saw more than $30 million spent. It has become one of the most expensive House races in U.S. history. That is obscene.
The Congressional races this fall will be impactful to this County. As a jurisdiction – like many others like us around this nation – our people and our values are clearly being targeted by the Trump administration. And the current Republican Congress has been feckless in providing any checks on his autocratic impulses.
There are still votes to be counted by the Board of Elections over the weekend, and an official certification of this election. The state has 10 days to finalize its count, but because the Independence Day holiday will be observed on Friday, July 3, that deadline will be extended to the next workday, Monday, July 6. You can follow the Board of Elections’ work at 777vote.org or keep up with updated results on the State Board of Elections website.
I appreciate everyone who came out to vote in this year’s primary, in spite of the much-needed rain. I want to extend my congratulations to all those at the county, state, and congressional levels of government who secured their nominations for the general election. What stands out about our nominees is how they represent our county’s unique diversity—across race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation.
If you missed the primary election this week, please remember that the general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. As Coretta Scott King said, “It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem.”
New Laws That Begin July 1
On Wednesday, July 1, we turn the calendar and welcome a new batch of state laws and budget measures.
On the consumer side, EV charging stations now charge by the kilowatt-hour rather than by the minute. That’s just basic fairness — you should pay for what you use. The change is reflected in the County’s EV charging stations, which you can find on the Department of Transportation website.
There’s also a new Utility Relief Act that moves the electric universal service program to the Office of Home Energy Programs, part of Health and Human Services, to help people who need assistance, and it updates how residential solar gets permitted and installed. The state of Maryland will also expect commercial EV charging stations to be registered so regulators can monitor them consistently.
The state is also banning the retail sale of certain unregulated substances often found over the counter at convenience stores. They include kratom, tianeptine, and phenibut — products that have been sold with very little oversight to anyone who asks for them.
Regarding public safety, counties with volunteer fire companies like ours now must provide free preventive cancer screenings for active and retired volunteer firefighters. Firefighters take enormous health risks for the rest of us, and, frankly, this kind of health protection is overdue. There’s also a new rule explicitly prohibiting school resource officers from any sexual activity with students at their assigned schools — that should go without saying, but now it’s law. I cannot believe that a law was required to prohibit this behavior, and it’s a sad commentary on the state of society that it wasn’t already prohibited.
On the labor side, the threshold for wage-and-hour claims handled by the state’s Division of Labor Standards increased from $7,500 to $13,000, meaning more workers can get help through that process. And the State is launching a task force to look at how counties and municipalities generate revenue — something that could ultimately affect how we fund services here in Montgomery County.
A few budget and infrastructure pieces also take effect: new legislation tied to the state budget modifies aid and statutory provisions, some tax changes around business depreciation, and new measures to streamline grants for Bus Rapid Transit, moving toward multiyear agreements between counties and the state.
Specifically, here in Montgomery County, we’re moving forward with a pilot program for stop sign monitoring systems in school zones in Gaithersburg and Rockville, and we’re launching a comprehensive study on housing affordability.
You can find a full list of new Maryland laws on the Maryland General Assembly website mgaleg.maryland.gov.
Procurement Progress
This week, I used my weekly media briefing to highlight our Office of Procurement because a big change is about to take effect. Procurement handles purchasing goods and services, and managing construction projects for County departments, overseeing a portfolio exceeding $5 billion. They work to ensure taxpayer money is used transparently and to support fair business practices and legal compliance.
Since my first day in office, I have been very clear about this: the “good old boys” network is done in Montgomery County. For too long, government contracting felt like a closed loop. Still, we have worked tirelessly to build a procurement system that is easier to navigate, transparent, and—most importantly—trustworthy for everyone.
Our focus has been on ensuring that local businesses have a fair opportunity to compete, and the results of this focus are historic. Last fiscal year, we spent a record-breaking $274 million through our Minority Female and Disabled-Owned Businesses program. Every third contract awarded went to someone who had never done business with the County before.
We are continuing to innovate and remove barriers. I am proud to announce that, starting Wednesday, July 1, we are expanding opportunities for our women- and veteran-owned businesses. We will now recognize federal Small Business Administration certifications for women and Maryland’s state certification for veterans. Vendors may upload their certification information to the County Vendor Registration System.
By leveraging these established standards, we are reducing the administrative burden on our entrepreneurs, allowing them to use certifications they have already earned to get a foot in the door here in Montgomery County.
This progress is only possible because of the work of our Office of Procurement. They have been recognized nationally for their commitment to transparency and efficiency, and their constant experimentation is what allows us to keep hitting these record highs in minority spending. Learn more by visiting montgomerycountymd.gov/pro.
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Remembering a Legend From Lyttonsville
On Thursday, I joined community leaders at the bridge on Talbot Avenue in Silver Spring to unveil a plaque in honor of Dr. Charlotte Coffield. This is an important addition for the Lyttonsville community, but her story is one every resident of this County should know.
Dr. Coffield was a lifelong Lyttonsville resident. She lived through segregation firsthand — restricted access to public places, exclusionary housing practices, all of it. And she used that experience to spend her entire life advocating for the preservation of Black history here in Montgomery County.
She used to call the old Talbot Avenue Bridge “our lifeline to civilization.” That bridge was the only connection Lyttonsville’s Black residents had to jobs, services, and transportation in Silver Spring and D.C. for most of the 20th century. It represented both the limitations Lyttonsville faced under segregation and is a marker of the resilience shown by that community for generations.
The original bridge came down in 2019. Its historic span is being preserved and will eventually be displayed along the Capital Crescent Trail. The new bridge opened in 2024 as part of the Purple Line project — two-way traffic, ADA-accessible, and much safer than the old bridge. It helps an entirely different community than the one Dr. Coffield grew up in. And that difference exists in part because of people like her.
Dr. Coffield was also a national leader in interpreter training for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. She was the first sign language interpreter at the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. She led the Lyttonsville Community Civic Association on historic preservation and transportation issues for decades. In 2019, she received the County’s Roscoe R. Nix Distinguished Community Leadership Award for that work. I got to work with her for a couple of decades; she was one of the most decent people I knew – compassionate, caring, and determined to see justice done for her community. And I counted her as a friend.
Dr. Coffield died in 2024 at the age of 91. The original bridge span will tell part of her community’s history. This plaque is about making sure her name and her work to improve our community are remembered alongside it.
I want to thank Myra Coffield and her family, along with the Lyttonsville community, for keeping her legacy alive.
Recognizing Montgomery County Animal Services Officer Ryan Jesien
If you didn’t see it this week, I’d like to share an article from the Washington Post on Montgomery County Animal Services Officer Ryan Jesien. He is in the spotlight for the volume of work he puts on his shoulders and his dedication to helping animals find safety. By his tally, he’s helped 16,000 animals over his long career.
Staffing issues and the high volume of calls to animal services for things like lost pets, bites, and injuries led to a recent stretch of 36 consecutive hours on the clock. This is going far beyond his job description, and for that, I thank him.
Volunteers at our Animal Services and Adoption Center are always welcome to help take on some of the daily responsibilities of our dedicated staff, such as walking dogs. Learn more by visiting the Animal Services and Adoption Center online.
Fourth of July Next Week
This might be the last update you get from me before you start your Independence Day holiday. I want to wish you a happy holiday and emphasize a few things to keep in mind.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 40% of U.S. traffic fatalities during the Fourth of July holiday involve impaired drivers. The numbers show 654 of the 1,724 fatalities involved a drunk driver. Almost half of the deadly drunk driving crashes over the holiday killed young adults between 21 and 34 years old.
We are part of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), which is offering help paying for safe rides home over the holiday. As part of Lyft’s annual SoberRide program, discounted rides will be available in Montgomery County and across the region during Independence Day celebrations. Service begins at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 4, and goes through 4 a.m. on Sunday, July 5.
Vouchers are worth up to $15 for adults 21 and older for drivers who have been drinking. To participate, riders must download the Lyft app and enter the SoberRide promotional code under the “Add Lyft Pass” option in the app’s Payment tab. The code will be posted at 3 p.m. on July 4.
Keep reading this newsletter to learn about how the holiday will impact County services and how to enjoy community celebrations like the Montgomery County 250th: Shine Together celebration on Friday, July 3, at Albert Einstein High School. One of my favorite bands, The Nighthawks, will be performing. Festivities begin at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, July 4, UpCounty will have its own celebration with Germantown Glory. That will be at the big park in Boyds. As we mark Montgomery County’s 250th anniversary, I encourage residents to visit our special website dedicated to the milestone and take some time to learn our history, appreciate our progress, and celebrate together.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
County Executive
Read the original article at mcgov