Nearly a year after Anne Arundel Executive John R. Leopold announced that the county would no longer hire contractors that employ illegal immigrants, no ties have been severed with any firm the county does business with.
The order Leopold issued in August requires businesses to sign a contract swearing they do not employ people living in the country illegally and allows the county to end relationships with contractors that do. But the county does not actively screen contractors for illegal hires and will only take action if such practices are brought to light by federal authorities, which has not happened.
Leopold, who repeatedly mentioned the policy last week after a federal raid on an Annapolis painting company that resulted in the arrest of 46 suspected illegal immigrants, said his directive is serving its purpose.
"I think it is working well, and it has leveled the playing field and put vendors on notice that we are not going to tolerate companies who hire illegal immigrants," said Leopold. "Everyone has signed on and that gives us the immediate right to terminate any contract that contains falsified information."
Leopold, who has made his stance against illegal immigration a priority of his administration, said that before he issued his executive order, he was aware of contractors who previously worked with the county and hired illegal immigrants, but declined to identify them. He also said the directive was a reaction to a "general concern" about illegal immigration across the country.
He and his central services officer, Fred Schram, said that two contractors initially balked at signing the amended contract but then did so because the county threatened to cut ties. Both officials, who pointed to those cases as examples of the measure's teeth, declined to identify the contractors or comment on whether the companies changed their hiring practices to keep the contracts with the county.
But Councilman Josh Cohen, an Annapolis Democrat who supported the federal raid in his district, said the effect of Leopold's order is largely symbolic.
"I think John was clearly making a statement with that executive order, but it's unclear what practical effect the order may have had," Cohen said. "It can be problematic when local jurisdictions are put into a position of trying to enforce federal laws."
Gustavo Torres, executive director of Casa de Maryland, a Latino immigrant rights group, said the county government does not have the capacity to crack down on a problem that continues to stymie the federal government.
