An experienced panel of legal experts and advocates discussed communities that are currently under attack by federal agencies and what local governments can do to help residents in need.
Recent federal changes have had a disproportionate effect on marginalized communities across every county in Maryland. A 2025 MACo Winter Conference session hosted a panel of experts to explain these new challenges that are facing immigrants, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and communities of color as well as how county governments can help.
Speakers for this session included George Escobar, the Executive Director of CASA, Amanda Karras the Executive Director of the International Municipal Lawyers Association, Lee Blinder the Chair of the Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs, and Cleveland Horton, the Executive Director of the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights.
Executive Director Karras kicked the session off by giving a legal overview of the most pertinent actions taken at the federal level between executive orders, agencies, and the US Supreme Court decisions that are effecting these communities. While she walked through the details of each, she shared that certainty about any of the actions and implications is unclear because many of the cases involving the executive orders and agency actions are ongoing and the situations are developing.
The next three presenters shared perspectives from what they are seeing on the ground working with immigrant, LGBTQIA+, and historically marginalized communities. Each of them reiterated that all of these communities are under the threat of new and unprecedented attacks. The major takeaway was that these communities need counties, where possible, to step-in and fill service gaps where lost, act as oversight bodies, build trust in the community, and provide support. This starts with assigning dedicated staff, resources, and funding to divisions that can be integrated and embedded in these communities in order to respond to needs accordingly. In many local agencies like law enforcement, health departments, human service divisions, and the like, there is already comparable infrastructure that could even be built upon to provide new services.
This effort can also take different shapes, like connecting residents to legal and medical support or establishing hotlines and proactive services for residents to feel comfortable reporting when they believe their rights have been violated by a government entity. Educating county departments, divisions, and employees on the urgent needs of these communities is also a way for local agencies to ground themselves in the current climate and challenges in order to build out appropriate programs. Presenters added that even doing something as simple as publicly reinforcing support for these communities can help to build the necessary trust and resilience between the local government and these communities that are under attack.
TITLE: Federal Policy and Marginalized Communities: County Strategies for Support and Equity
SPEAKERS: George Escobar, Executive Director, CASA, Amanda Karras, Executive Director, International Municipal Lawyers Association, Lee Blinder, Chair, Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs, Cleveland Horton, Executive Director, Maryland Commission on Civil Rights
MODERATOR: The Honorable Nicole Williams, Maryland House of Delegates
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