The Hyattsville City Council officially passed a $100,000 emergency fund to support families impacted by federal immigration enforcement during its April 27 meeting. The decision comes after significant community engagement, which councilmembers cited as a catalyst for the fund’s passage.
Originally proposed and sponsored by Councilmember Edouard Haba (Ward 4) and cosponsored by Councilmembers Danny Schaible (Ward 2) and Joseph Solomon (Ward 5), the fund is intended to support families impacted by ICE by helping with rent, groceries and other necessary expenses. Families of detained or deported individuals will also be able to apply for funding to cover legal fees.
The April council meeting opened with nearly an hour of emotional testimony from more than 15 residents and advocates. Community members shared stories of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Prince George’s County that they said had left families without financial support and heightened fears among immigrants in the area.
“As we sit here today, comfortable in our houses, there are 30 children in the Hyattsville area whose homes are missing somebody,” Hyattsville resident Brian Banks said. “All of the local services that these families are turning to are exhausted. We’ve heard from our neighbors that the social services, the legal services, the financial services are all overwhelmed.”
Resident Raphael Talisman described witnessing what he called the “gruesome, inhumane” arrest of an “immigrant community member who was also a father, and husband, and neighbor.”
“The legislation tonight is crucial,” Talisman said. “All of us will not stand by idly.”
Kelsey Ryland, a resident of Mount Rainier, started working with the Prince George’s County Immigrant Rights Coalition in October, delivering meals to local immigrant families.
“We’re now delivering meals to over 100 families every weekend,” she said. “And that is because of the uptick in ICE enforcement.”
Ryland recounted the case of a local woman whose husband was detained. Ryland said the detention left the woman to manage a family medical crisis and mounting financial pressures alone.
“They are struggling to pay their rent,” Ryland said. “I do this work because I want to look back and tell my kids what we did when this happened. And I hope that you all are able to make the right decision tonight, so that you can look at your families and say the same.”
Councilmember Waszczak pointed out the high cost of legal representation and noted that legal assistance can cost up to $15,000 for one person, so the funding “really only helps about six families with legal assistance.” However, she emphasized the emergency relief was necessary to bolster social services and set a precedent going forward.
“I just really want us to be among the helpers,” she said. “We don’t have to be the helper. I just want us to be among the helpers…by putting together this emergency relief fund.”
Several advocates pointed out that the city funds its police force at one of the highest per-capita rates in the nation, describing the proposed $100,000 allocation as a “rounding error” in comparison. The fund amounts to less than a quarter of 1% of the city’s budget from last year. In March, the city projected a $4 million budget gap.
“Opposing this fund on fiscal grounds is like saying we don’t have a budget to help Anne Frank,“said a Ward 4 resident. “These are our neighbors, real families in our community, that are being torn apart by federal raids. … I think what’s being tested here is not our budget, but our conscience.”
Throughout the meeting, all councilmembers acknowledged the impact immigration raids have had on the community. However, opposition to the funding centered on legal concerns and the timing of implementation.
Councilmembers Michelle Lee and Kelson Nesbitt, who voted against the motion, expressed concern that a narrowly targeted fund could create division, arguing that other residents — including federal workers who recently lost their jobs — are also facing hardship. They instead advocated for expanding existing programs that serve the broader community.
Councilmember Strab proposed an amendment to the original motion to broaden the language surrounding applicant eligibility.
“We’re directly impacting these families, but we may not be handing them the check,” said Strab. “We may be paying a month of rent, or utilities, or something like that, and have a profound impact … if that’s something we find out in development that we can’t do, I don’t want the motion language to hold us back from implementing the program.”
The amendment replaced phrases such as “direct financial assistance” with “assistance” and changed “breadwinner” to “primary income” in order to increase the number of eligible applicants. Councilmembers Solomon, Waszczak, Schiable, Haba and Lee voted against the revised language, arguing it made the content too vague. It was passed in a roll-call vote.
Councilmembers discussed routing funds through an independent nonprofit to reduce the risk of federal agencies identifying applicants through public information laws.
“When we use taxpayers’ money to do something like this, there’s a paper trail, and it can be a consequence,” said Mayor Robert Croslin.
Under the proposed model, applicant data would be handled by the nonprofit rather than the city government itself. Existing nonprofits also already possess the infrastructure and community trust needed to administer services more effectively and accessibly.
The council now needs to develop and approve criteria to determine who is eligible to receive funds under the program, called Hope Fund: Community Stability. City staff projected that they could start distributing funds this September.
Despite delays in implementation, supporters described the fund’s passage as a significant commitment to serving Hyattsville’s immigrant community, which makes up roughly one-third of the city’s population.
Fiona Flowers is an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland.