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Maryland
Maryland Democrats Threaten Funding of Immigrant Rights Group That Called for Gaza Ceasefire
![Maryland Democrats Threaten Funding of Immigrant Rights Group That Called for Gaza Ceasefire](https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/AP21176059969679-2.jpg?fit=5396,2698&w=1200&h=800)
A group of Democratic state senators in Maryland is threatening to strip state funding for an immigrant rights group after it called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and condemned the “utilization of US tax dollars to promote the ongoing violence.”
The nine lawmakers who represent Montgomery County — Maryland’s most populous county — said in a statement on Wednesday that the remarks by CASA were “hurtful, divisive, and antisemitic.”
CASA is a Maryland-based advocacy organization that also provides services for the state’s immigrant communities, and it receives millions of dollars from the state and local governments to do that work. The Democratic delegation, whose members sit on influential committees in the state legislature, suggested that it may cease state support for the organization. “This might be an appropriate time to reevaluate the state’s mechanism for providing financial aid and support to our immigrant community,” the senators wrote. “More specifically, we must ensure that public funds are not being used to promote antisemitism and Jewish hate.”
The Democrats’ threat follows actions by other state and federal officials urging crackdowns against those supportive of the Palestinian people and critical of Israel’s war on Gaza. Sen. Josh Hawley led a resolution condemning “radical student organizations” protesting on college campuses, while Sen. Tom Cotton called to deport foreign nationals deemed to be in support of Hamas. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, meanwhile, has opened an investigation into a pro-Palestinian nonprofit, while students and employees across the country have faced professional retaliation for their support of Palestine.
“The systematic targeting and silencing of organizations and individuals advocating for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation needs to stop,” said Yasmine Taeb, legislative and political director at MPower Change Action Fund, a Muslim-led justice organization. “It’s particularly shameful for Montgomery County state senators to attempt to silence CASA, an organization fighting on behalf of our immigrant communities, by threatening to withhold their funding.”
The saga in Maryland began with a statement CASA released on Monday, expressing “resolute and steadfast solidarity with the people of Palestine” and calling for an “immediate ceasefire to save all precious life and halt the systematic ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”
The statement, signed by CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres, condemned Hamas’s attack on October 7 and rejected the notion that any violence could justify Israel’s attacks of “terror,” including the targeting of refugee camps and medical and United Nations aid workers.
The group, which was founded by activists who opposed U.S. interference in Latin America, also noted its strong support for decolonization and for Indigenous and historically colonized people. “The Palestinian struggle mirrors our own; with many CASA members fleeing governments and countries wrecked by the damage of US economic and political intervention.”
The organization also posted a series of tweets mirroring the language in the statement. CASA faced swift pushback, including from Montgomery County Council Vice President Andrew Friedson, who called the statement “inflammatory and inaccurate” and urged the group to retract it.
The group deleted the statement and the tweets on the same day it issued them and posted an apology. “We write to acknowledge that our words have caused hurt,” CASA tweeted. “We have received feedback from our dear and trusted partners, who have expressed their concerns about the impact of our language.”
Torres expressed similar sentiments in an interview with The Intercept, saying that the group feels “horrendous” about hurting Jewish community members, some of whom they have worked with for years.
He said CASA maintains its support for a ceasefire and that the group will have a new statement in the days to come. The group hopes to communicate that it is for peace, that it denounces the killing of civilians by both Hamas and the Israeli government, and that Palestine deserves self-determination, as Israel deserves a democratic state with security.
Torres said he has spoken with some of the senators and believes that they do not want to cut funding for CASA’s basic services, including workforce development and English and computer classes. “I hope that that is not their intention. And I hope that they are going to analyze better the statement they make about that.”
According to CASA’s 2021 tax filings, the group received $4.89 million in government grants and another $11.3 million in government contracts, out of its total $25.7 million in revenue.
In their letter, the senators wrote that they “have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with CASA to support Montgomery County’s values,” and that Hamas represents the antithesis of those values.” They also decried CASA’s “inflammatory posting of a sign that reads ‘From the River to the Sea,’” referring to a picture of a protest sign that CASA had posted on Instagram and later deleted. The slogan, which has become a lightning rod in the political discourse about Israel and Gaza, has long been used by Palestinians to refer to their aspirations for freedom and equality.
The Democrats said CASA — which opened its statement by condemning the Hamas attack — overlooked the militants’ efforts to kill Jews. Their letter made no mention of the over 10,000 Palestinian casualties of Israel’s retaliatory war on Gaza.
In a statement on Thursday, state Delegate Gabriel Acevero shot back against his Senate counterparts, saying he was “disgusted” by the delegation’s threats. “Let me be very clear, I will call out and fight any attempt by any Democrat in Annapolis to target resources for new Americans,” he wrote. “I don’t tolerate xenophobia from Republicans, and I won’t tolerate it from Democrats. I am calling on the Montgomery County Senate Delegation to retract the insensitive letter they authored and rethink how they communicate with our community, and their constituents.”
The nine Maryland Democrats who signed the letter are:
Benjamin Kramer
Ariana Kelly
Brian Feldman
Katie Fry Hester
Cheryl Kagan
Nancy King
William Smith
Jeff Waldstreicher
Craig Zucker
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Full interview: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on
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Maryland
7 men represent one of Maryland’s most diverse counties. Could that change?
![7 men represent one of Maryland’s most diverse counties. Could that change?](https://thebaltimorebanner.com/resizer/v2/YVHK7LTW7ZF5JALRMPF2TJ53WE.jpg?auth=045483d79b763d63906140bb7e9dc53efe4a306760070723dbff62738b66dcff&width=657&smart=true&quality=85)
Since 1956, a County Council of seven — most of them white and most of them men — has represented Baltimore County. That could change after a vote Monday to put the question of whether the council should expand on the ballot.
Though the council members have discussed changes to the body since the 1970s, they’ve never gotten this close to asking the voters to codify changes in the law. The question has become increasingly important, as the population has quadrupled to nearly 850,000 in the last 70 years. People of color make up half the population. The county is 30% Black with a fast-growing immigrant population from Arabic and Hispanic countries.
Today’s County Council includes seven men, six of whom are white. Many civil rights groups and progressive activists have complained the councilmen do not represent the diversifying county and its myriad interests, including affordable housing and accessible transit.
The council needs five votes to put the measure on the ballot in 2024. If the voters approve the measure, the council would expand by two members in 2026. The council would have to redraw political maps to determine where to put the additional districts, and it would have to alter the number of appointments to the planning board and board of appeals so the new council members also have representation there.
The effort would cost approximately $1.4 million in increased annual operating costs and $12.2 million in (one-time) capital improvement costs.
Council Chairman Izzy Patoka, who has been championing the cause of expansion since a workgroup recommended it in March, said he is confident that he has the five votes.
But of the councilmen polled this past week, only Mike Ertel, a Towson Democrat, said he is supporting it. Republicans Todd Crandell, Wade Kach, and David Marks said they are undecided, as did Democrats Pat Young and Julian Jones.
One provision that may make the legislation more popular with Patoka’s colleagues is a change to make the councilman’s job a full-time position. Currently, each councilman makes $69,000 a year, with the exception of the chair, who makes $77,000. Some have other jobs, even though many have said that the position is really a full-time one.
It’s not clear how much the salary would bump up with a switch to full-time. In Montgomery County, council members have been full-time since voters approved a 2006 ballot. There, the members make $156,284 per year and the council president makes $171,912.46 annually.
The workgroup that recommended expanding the council by two people also recommended making the members full-time.
The group, called the Baltimore County Structure Review Workgroup, included 11 members and met nine times in 2023 and 2024, including holding a public hearing last January. While some wanted to expand by four, the work group’s consensus was to increase by two members.
Those who are undecided offered different reasons for their concerns, ranging from motives of advocates to philosophical reasons about democracy and government.
“In general, I am not in favor of expanding government, which this would do, but I also want to learn from my colleagues who are in support of the bill,” said Crandell, who represents the Dundalk area.
Young, who represents the Catonsville area, said the advocates who have contacted him and come before the council want four new members, not two, and he’s not certain two would allay their concerns.
Marks, who represents the Perry Hall area, said he’s been put off by a process that Democratic activists have driven, and said he would be more in favor of the expansion if those clamoring for it represented a broader cross-section of the county, including more Republican-leaning areas. Kach said he was “not happy” with the proposed council districts or the lack of public input in drafting a new map.
And Jones, the only Black member of the council, said he’s not sure the expansion will accomplish the goal of increasing diversity.
“No one cares more about diversity than I do,” he said. “But democracy is messy, and no one can say the people we have were not duly elected, and that citizens have choices.”
Several of the current members have had an opponent who was a person of color or a woman; they just didn’t happen to win. Caitlin Klimm-Kellner ran against Mike Ertel in District 6. She told the work group studying the expansion that she struggled because the district included 127,000 people. She hailed from the Rosedale side; Ertel, a longtime community organizer, was much more well-known in Towson.
“I think that if it was a smaller representation, a more localized district, that would not have been as much of a problem,” Klimm-Kellner told the group.
The council held public hearings on the proposed referendum on June 11 and June 25.
The voting meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the County Council chambers at 400 Washington Ave., Suite 205.
Maryland
The Biggest Cities and Areas in Maryland (Population) – The MoCo Show
![The Biggest Cities and Areas in Maryland (Population) – The MoCo Show](https://s44899.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IMG_5139.jpeg)
Maryland
According to the 2020 census, Maryland’s population is 6,177,224, ranked 18th in the nation. Maryland’s population continues to grow by at least 7% each decade. It is the 22nd fast-growing state in the nation relative to its population. The “biggest” cities (incorporated) and areas (unincorporated), in terms of population, can be seen below:
OVER 10,000 POPULATION
1990 census | 2000 census | 2010 census | 2020 census | |
Baltimore | 736,014 | 651,154 | 620,961 | 585,708 |
Frederick | 40,148 | 52,767 | 65,239 | 78,171 |
Rockville | 44,830 | 47,388 | 61,209 | 67,117 |
Gaithersburg | 39,676 | 52,613 | 59,933 | 69,657 |
Bowie | 37,642 | 50,269 | 54,727 | 58,329 |
Hagerstown | 35,306 | 36,687 | 39,662 | 43,527 |
Annapolis | 33,195 | 35,838 | 38,394 | 40,812 |
College Park | 23,714 | 24,657 | 30,413 | 34,740 |
Salisbury | 20,592 | 23,743 | 30,343 | 33,050 |
Laurel | 19,086 | 19,960 | 25,115 | 30,060 |
Greenbelt | 20,561 | 21,456 | 23,068 | 24,921 |
Cumberland | 23,712 | 21,518 | 20,859 | 19,076 |
Westminster | 13,060 | 16,731 | 18,590 | 20,126 |
Hyattsville | 13,864 | 14,733 | 17,557 | 21,187 |
Takoma Park | 16,724 | 17,299 | 16,715 | 17,629 |
Easton | 9,372 | 11,708 | 15,945 | 17,101 |
Elkton | 9,073 | 11,893 | 15,443 | 15,807 |
Aberdeen | 13,087 | 13,842 | 14,959 | 16,254 |
Havre de Grace | 8,952 | 11,331 | 12,952 | 14,807 |
Cambridge | 11,514 | 10,911 | 12,326 | 13,096 |
New Carrollton | 12,002 | 12,589 | 12,135 | 13,715 |
OVER 20,000 POPULATION
1990 census | 2000 census | 2010 census | 2020 census | |
Columbia | 75,883 | 88,254 | 99,615 | 104,681 |
Germantown | 41,145 | 55,419 | 86,395 | 91,249 |
Silver Spring | 76,046 | 76,540 | 71,452 | 81,015 |
Waldorf | 15,058 | 22,312 | 67,752 | 81,410 |
Glen Burnie | 37,305 | 38,922 | 67,639 | 72,891 |
Ellicott City | 41,396 | 56,397 | 65,834 | 75,947 |
Dundalk | 65,800 | 62,306 | 63,597 | 67,796 |
Wheaton-Glenmont | 53,720 | 57,694 | 61,813 | 68,860 |
Bethesda | 62,936 | 55,277 | 60,858 | 68,056 |
Towson | 49,445 | 51,793 | 55,197 | 59,553 |
Aspen Hill | 45,494 | 50,228 | 48,759 | 51,063 |
Bel Air South | 26,421 | 39,711 | 47,709 | 57,648 |
Potomac | 45,634 | 44,822 | 44,965 | 47,018 |
Severn | 24,499 | 35,076 | 44,231 | 57,118 |
North Bethesda | 29,656 | 38,610 | 43,828 | 50,094 |
Catonsville | 35,233 | 39,820 | 41,567 | 44,701 |
Essex | 40,872 | 39,078 | 39,262 | 40,505 |
Woodlawn | 32,907 | 36,079 | 37,879 | 40,469 |
Severna Park | 25,879 | 28,507 | 37,634 | 39,933 |
Odenton | 12,833 | 20,534 | 37,132 | 42,947 |
Clinton | 19,987 | 26,064 | 35,970 | 38,760 |
Oxon Hill-Glassmanor | 35,794 | 35,355 | 35,017 | 37,221 |
Olney | 23,019 | 31,438 | 33,844 | 37,221 |
Chillum | 31,309 | 34,252 | 33,513 | 36,039 |
Randallstown | 26,277 | 30,870 | 32,430 | 33,655 |
Montgomery Village | 32,315 | 38,051 | 32,032 | 34,893 |
Suitland-Silver Hill | 35,111 | 33,515 | 31,775 | 32,220 |
Pikesville | 24,815 | 29,123 | 30,764 | 34,168 |
Parkville | 31,617 | 31,118 | 30,734 | 31,812 |
Owings Mills | 9,474 | 20,193 | 30,622 | 35,674 |
Bel Air North | 14,880 | 25,798 | 30,568 | 31,841 |
Eldersburg | 9,720 | 27,741 | 30,531 | 32,582 |
Carney | 25,578 | 28,264 | 29,941 | 29,363 |
Milford Mill | 22,547 | 26,527 | 29,042 | 30,622 |
Perry Hall | 22,723 | 28,705 | 28,474 | 29,409 |
Crofton | 12,781 | 20,091 | 27,348 | 29,641 |
South Laurel | 18,591 | 20,479 | 26,112 | 29,602 |
Reisterstown | 19,314 | 22,438 | 25,968 | 26,822 |
Edgewood | 23,903 | 23,378 | 25,562 | 25,713 |
Lochearn | 25,240 | 25,269 | 25,333 | 25,511 |
Middle River | 24,616 | 23,958 | 25,191 | 33,203 |
North Potomac | 18,456 | 23,044 | 24,410 | 23,790 |
Scaggsville | 24,333 | 9,217 | ||
Pasadena | 24,287 | 32,979 | ||
Fort Washington | 24,032 | 23,845 | 23,717 | 24,261 |
Fairland | 19,828 | 21,738 | 23,681 | 25,396 |
Ilchester | 23,476 | 26,824 | ||
Arnold | 20,261 | 23,422 | 23,106 | 24,064 |
Landover* | 22,900 | 23,078 | 25,998 | |
Cockeysville | 20,776 | 24,184 | ||
Arbutus | 19,750 | 20,116 | 20,483 | 21,655 |
White Oak | 18,671 | 20,973 | 17,403 | 16,347 |
Elkridge | 12,953 | 22,042 | 15,593 | 25,171 |
North Laurel | 15,008 | 20,468 | 4,474 | 25,379 |
St. Charles** | 28,717 | 33,379 | ||
South Gate*** | 27,564 | 28,672 |
**(included with Waldorf for 2010 Census and beyond)
***(included with Glen Burnie for 2010 Census and beyond)
Source: Quick Facts, U.S. Census Bureau, as of April 1, 2020.
Featured photo shows the city of Baltimore, by @DronifyDMV. Information courtesy of Maryland.gov
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