Even after Gov. Wes Moore signs a bill banning official agreements between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement across Maryland, as he’s expected to do, many local sheriffs say they will continue to work with ICE in whatever informal, legal capacity they can.
“No politician or legislative body is going to tell me that I can’t communicate with another law enforcement agency on matters of public safety in my community,” Carroll County Sheriff James T. “Jim” DeWees said. “I’m not going to stop.”
The bill banning 287(g) agreements, passed by the Maryland General Assembly Thursday, is set to take effect immediately after Moore signs it. Sheriffs in the nine jurisdictions with 287(g) agreements said they would comply with the bill and end their agreements, but emphasized they would continue to communicate and work with ICE in a legal capacity, and also explore legal challenges to the bill.
“This is all political,” said Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. “Chuck” Jenkins. “You can put any lipstick you want on it; it’s all political. The Democrats don’t want any cooperation with ICE. They don’t want any enforcement whatsoever.”
Jenkins and DeWees are both Republicans; Moore is a Democrat. All three are running for reelection this year.
The 287(g) agreements give ICE authority over state and local law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement duties. Nine Maryland counties have agreements with ICE: Frederick, Allegany, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, St. Mary’s, Washington and Wicomico.
Cecil, Frederick and Harford operate under a “jail model,” which authorizes correctional officers to screen detainees for immigration status and contact ICE. The other six counties use the “warrant model,” under which officers cooperate with ICE only when there is an active Department of Homeland Security warrant.
Chaos in the streets?
The sheriffs warn that once ICE agreements are ended, an increased ICE presence in communities and street apprehensions will become the norm.
Jenkins, who said he has the longest-running 287(g) program in the country, said he expects more “criminal elements” to enter and operate in Maryland as a result of this bill’s approval.
“There will be protections here for them, so I think you’re going to see an influx of criminals, people with criminal intent, maybe criminal gangs, transnational criminal gangs,” Jenkins said.
DeWees, who entered into a 287(g) agreement about a year ago, said no deputy or police officer in Carroll County “runs around and helps with immigration enforcement.” County policy prohibits it.
Once the agreement is void, he predicts “public safety chaos, like we’re seeing in Minneapolis.”
“ICE is going to be up here searching for them in the community,” DeWees said.
Cori Alonso-Yoder, assistant professor of law and director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, said street enforcement has been used as a form of “retaliation” by the federal government in states such as Illinois and Minnesota.
She said Maryland has felt some of that retaliation already via the denial of FEMA funds to Western Maryland following flooding last summer and last week’s rescinding of Moore’s invite to the National Governor’s Meeting at the White House.
“[Other jurisdictions] receive some political targeting in terms of the rhetoric and messaging by labeling these different jurisdictions as ‘sanctuary,’ which has, in some cases, led to congressional inquiries and other kinds of federal oversight and pressure,” Alonso-Yoder said.
Continuing communication with ICE
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler, also a Republican running for reelection, said it is “insane” to make an enemy out of fellow law enforcement, such as ICE. He said the lack of coordination and communication between law enforcement partners led to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“And yet, we didn’t learn from it. We’re doubling down,” Gahler said. “It is completely insane that we would not coordinate for public safety purposes.”
DeWees expressed frustration with lawmakers in Annapolis, who he said did not provide an alternative form of communication with ICE and instead left it to local jurisdictions to figure out.
“If you don’t like what I’m doing, then call me, and I’ll have a deputy bring that person [with an ICE detainer] to your house, and they can sit at your house until Annapolis figures out what to do with these people,” DeWees said. “There ain’t going to be many volunteers for that.”
The sheriffs said they would continue to work with ICE in an informal, legal capacity. Jenkins and Gahler, whose counties operated under the jail model, said Frederick and Harford counties would provide arrest sheets to ICE every day, so they could do checks. They also plan to continue immigration detainers, which allow local jurisdictions to hold people who immigrated illegally for up to 48 hours.
Carroll County operates under the warrant model and DeWees said he would notify ICE when someone who is in the country illegally is to be released from jail, which is also allowed under immigration detainers.
Challenging constitutionality
The sheriffs vow to continue exploring a legal challenge to the bill’s constitutionality. Jenkins said he has reached out to organizations for legal assistance.
Since the sheriff’s office is a constitutional office, Jenkins said he doesn’t believe the legislature can take authority away from him to sign an agreement to “protect” Frederick County.
Cecil County Sheriff Scott Adams said the constitutionality centers on whether the legislature has the power to override a state-elected official because of the supremacy clause. That clause ensures that the federal government can govern effectively without interference from individual states.
Gahler said he doesn’t hold much hope on a legal challenge, but he “1,000% would” support it.
Alonso-Yoder said there has not been a constitutional challenge to these bills in other states, but it is an “unprecedented time.”
“Bringing that kind of a challenge doesn’t seem to need to be out of the realm of possibility,” she said.
Josh Davis contributed to this story. Have a news tip? Contact Brendan Nordstrom at bnordstrom@baltsun.com or at 443-900-1353.