On Wednesday, nine sheriffs from Maryland declared their intention to keep collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This follows Governor Wes Moore’s recent signing of a legislation that ends formal local police partnerships with federal agencies. Despite this, state Democrats admitted that the new rules won’t prevent ongoing cooperation.
“This is a significant betrayal of law enforcement and public safety,” remarked Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis. “It’s truly a sad day for Maryland.”
A joint press conference held by a group of Maryland sheriffs criticized the state’s decision to ban involvement in the federal 287(g) program, which integrates local law enforcement with federal authorities to address immigration enforcement and other public safety tasks.
Sheriff Lewis was particularly vocal about his disdain for Governor Moore and the state Democrats, labeling the ban on 287(g) as a reckless betrayal of law enforcement, emphasizing that it won’t halt ICE’s activities.
“Ending the 287(g) program won’t eliminate ICE. They’re not disappearing. In fact, they are likely to increase their presence,” Lewis stated. “You’ll witness a noticeable rise in ICE activity in this state,” he added, as reported by WBAL-TV.
The sheriffs insisted that even though they may not participate in the formal 287(g) program, the ban won’t stop them from cooperating with ICE. They plan to implement individual policies to continue their collaboration, regardless of the state’s directives.
Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWeese mentioned that he has established his own internal guidelines that permit collaboration with ICE, asserting that his policies remain unaffected by the ban, as reported by WBFF-TV.
Harford County Sheriff Jeff Galer noted, “We will continue to advance in partnership, even informally, despite the memorandum of understanding being restricted.”
“We will share information on those we arrest with ICE so they can seek detainer status,” Galer elaborated.
According to WBFF, several Democratic lawmakers have admitted that they can’t prevent the sheriffs from working with ICE and that the ban won’t eliminate cooperation beyond Section 287(g).
“You can’t stipulate that you can’t work with ICE due to federal advantages. Even if you create state laws to limit formal agreements, collaboration can still happen,” a lawmaker commented.
Former Governor Larry Hogan predicted that most law enforcement agencies in Maryland would disregard Moore’s ban.
“The state just enacted a law that prohibits local law enforcement from collaborating with ICE. And local officers are already saying, ‘We’re going to ignore this because cooperation is necessary,'” Hogan remarked on Wednesday, as reported by a newspaper.
“The reality is we’ve gone too far in this situation. When you have violent offenders that ICE intends to detain, putting them back on the streets is not an option. There are multiple perspectives to consider here.”
Maryland isn’t alone in attempting to limit local police collaboration with ICE regarding the removal of violent criminals. New Mexico has also recently enacted legislation prohibiting participation in the 287(g) program.
