ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County leaders slammed President Donald Trump, a federal immigration official, and the conservative media on Thursday — blaming them for "spreading false information" that establishes an "illogical and xenophobic connection" between a person's immigration status and their predilection for sexual assault.

"There has been a lot of inaccurate information spread by the White House, President Trump, Acting USCIS Director Ken Cuccinelli, local and national conservative news outlets and neo-Nazi sympathizers regarding our criminal justice system and its process," Montgomery County officials said in a statement Thursday. "These individuals and organizations should be ashamed for spreading false information seeking to establish a baseless, illogical and xenophobic connection between a person's failure to obtain legal status and their propensity to commit a sex crime." In recent months, at least half a dozen undocumented immigrants have been arrested on suspicion of rape in Montgomery County, court records reveal. The county is facing national scrutiny over these rape cases, with conservatives arguing that the region's more lenient immigration policies are to blame for the alleged assaults.



Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, is one of the critics. He took to Twitter on Tuesday in an effort to show what he says could happen when a county supports sanctuary policies. More sanctuary Montgomery county consequences... sad and tragic https://t.co/bJuQTlJufL

— USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli (@USCISCuccinelli) September 3, 2019 In August, County Executive Marc Elrich, a Democrat, signed an executive order that seeks to eliminate any collaboration between county law enforcement officers and federal immigration authorities. It prohibits county police officers from asking residents about their immigration status and working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — the agency behind multiple nationwide sweeps to deport undocumented immigrants.

In the past, a conservative women's group has criticized Elrich's executive order, saying there is no excuse for policies that provide protection to undocumented immigrants who break the law. That same group, called the Montgomery County Federation of Republican Women, has once again fired back. In response to Thursday's statement, the group's president, Sharon Bauer, wrote a letter to the county council, expressing disdain for their policies and their views of conservatives.

"(W)e are shocked and deeply disappointed that the Montgomery County Council chose to use its official position to issue an outrageously ideological statement," Bauer wrote. "They chose to describe Montgomery County residents and all those who voiced a justifiable and sincere outrage over these reported crimes, as 'Neo-Nazi sympathizers' which only foments hate and division in the county, in order to deflect away from their failure as our elected officials."

Speaking on behalf of the organization, Bauer asserts that the county is prioritizing the protection of undocumented immigrants over the safety of residents.