Maryland Values Act Policy

Approval Date: 10/8/2025
Last Revision Date:10/8/2025

Board Policy Alignment:
EL-1 Treatment of Students
EL-9 Asset Protection

Responsible Officials: Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Administration and Vice President for Student Experience

Purpose

Frederick Community College (FCC) will comply with all federal and state laws governing immigration enforcement activities conducted in the State of Maryland. In doing so, FCC
will strive to maintain the safety and security of the educational and working environment for the college community.

Scope

This policy is adopted in accordance with the requirements of the Maryland Values Act, HB1222. For further guidance regarding this law, please refer to the guidance issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, available here:
https://oag.maryland.gov/FederalActionsResponse/Documents/pdfs/HB%201222%20Guidance%20FINAL.pdf

Definitions

See the Policy Glossary for definitions of hyperlinked terms in this policy.

Policy

Nonpublic Spaces
1. Frederick Community College (FCC) provides educational services to members of the public, regardless of their immigration or citizenship status.
2. The following areas of FCC are considered nonpublic spaces:
  1. designated classroom spaces (both inside campus buildings and those areas designated as “outdoor classrooms”),
  2. designated student study spaces,
  3. laboratories,
  4. the Bess and Frank Gladhill Learning Commons,
  5. athletic training facilities,
  6. administrative and academic offices, and
  7. IT infrastructure and mechanical spaces.
3. Access to nonpublic spaces is limited to authorized staff and students.
Immigration Enforcement at FCC
1. FCC Public Safety shall be the primary point of contact for issues related to immigration enforcement.
2. Law enforcement must have proper authorization to enter nonpublic spaces at FCC facilities.
3. Law enforcement officials seeking to enforce immigration law are only authorized to access nonpublic spaces of FCC facilities with a judicial warrant (as opposed to an
  administrative warrant) or where exigent circumstances require such access. The warrant requirement discussed above does not apply to compliance visits by immigration officers, such as site visits to confirm compliance with certain immigration rules. For example, officials from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) occasionally visit the offices of employers with professional nonimmigrant workers to verify the nature of the work being performed and/or officials from the Department of Homeland Security Student Exchange Visitor Program to verify compliance with student visa program rules. Such compliance visits do not entail “enforcement” of the immigration laws.
4. If United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents or other immigration authorities appear at FCC facilities, employees shall presume that they are engaged in immigration enforcement. Employees shall proceed as follows:
  - Contact FCC Public Safety immediately. Ask the ICE agents to wait in a lobby or other public space.
  - If the ICE agents demand immediate access to nonpublic spaces without waiting for FCC Public Safety, staff should ask the agent to wait in the public space for FCC Public Safety to arrive but should not attempt to stop or impede the officer, and, shall, as promptly as possible, contact FCC Public Safety and make a record of the incident for FCC Public Safety, including notes about the verbal exchange with the ICE agents, identifying details about the ICE agents, the ICE agents’ actions, any arrests or other results of those actions, and the identity of other witnesses.
  - Under no circumstances should employees interfere with the ICE agents, attempt to make them leave a public space, attempt to conceal any person from ICE, or attempt to assist any person in evading ICE.
5. FCC Public Safety shall make and maintain records of all immigration enforcement activity at FCC facilities.
6. FCC Public Safety shall request and record the following information from any ICE agent or other federal official who appears at FCC facilities on immigration business:
  - Name
  - Badge number or other official identifying information
  - Agency
  - Purpose of visit
  - Proposed action to be taken at the FCC facility
7. If an immigration officer requests access to nonpublic spaces within FCC facilities in order to conduct enforcement action, FCC Public Safety may authorize such access only if the officer (1) asserts that exigent circumstances exist; or (2) possesses a valid judicial warrant. To confirm the existence of a valid judicial warrant, FCC Public Safety shall:
  - Obtain a copy of the document;
  - Confirm that the heading shows the document was issued by a court;
  - Confirm that a U.S. District Court Judge or Magistrate signed it;
  - Confirm that it lists FCC facilities among the places to be searched for a wanted person or evidence; and
  - Verify that the document is not expired.
8. FCC Public Safety should ask the ICE agent for the opportunity to consult with FCC’s legal counsel about any questions concerning a judicial warrant or the existence of exigent circumstances.
9. If immigration officers proceed into a nonpublic space without exigent circumstances or a judicial warrant, FCC Public Safety shall document the incident but shall make no effort to resist or block the officers.
Requests by Immigration Officers for Records or Information
1. The confidentiality of information about students served by FCC is generally protected by federal and state laws, including the Family Educational Rights and
  Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; and COMAR 13A.08.02 as well as Md. Code Ann., Gen. Prov. § 4-320.1. The “personal information” protected by Gen. Prov. § 4- 320.1 does not include information regarding citizenship or immigration status.
2. FCC does not release student education records or personally identifiable information (PII) without a valid court order or subpoena, in compliance with FERPA.
3. If ICE agents or other immigration officers request records or information about students, employees shall contact the Vice President for Student Experience.
4. The Vice President for Student Experience shall request and record the immigration officer’s identifying information.
  - Name
  - Badge number or other official identifying information
  - Agency
  - Purpose of visit
  - Proposed action to be taken at the FCC facility
5. The Vice President for Student Experience shall also obtain a copy of any documentation supporting the officer’s request, such as an administrative subpoena, judicial subpoena, or court order. To confirm the existence of a valid judicial warrant, the Vice President for Student Experience shall:
  - Obtain a copy of the document;
  - Confirm that the heading shows the document was issued by a court;
  - Confirm that a U.S. District Court Judge or Magistrate signed it;
  - Confirm that it lists FCC facilities among the places to be searched for a wanted person or evidence; and
  - Verify that the document is not expired.
6. The Vice President for Student Experience should ask the ICE agent for the opportunity to consult with FCC’s legal counsel about any questions concerning any documentation supporting the officer’s request, such as an administrative subpoena, judicial subpoena, or court order.
7. If immigration officers present a judicial search warrant or assert that exigent circumstances exist to search a nonpublic space, the Vice President for Student Experience should contact FCC Public Safety per Sections B.7 and B.8 of this policy as noted above.
8. If immigration officers proceed to search a nonpublic space without exigent circumstances or a judicial warrant, the Vice President for Student Experience shall notify FCC Public Safety, ask the officer to wait in the public space for FCC Public Safety to arrive, but make no effort to resist or block the officers.