By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed two emergency bills on Feb. 17 banning state and local cooperation with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
House Bill 444 and Senate Bill 245, effective immediately, prohibit officers from participating in federal civil immigration enforcement through 287(g) agreements, formal contracts giving local law enforcement certain powers under ICE supervision.
“These bills reflect years, more than a decade of advocacy from We Are CASA, the ACLU of Maryland, and partners who believe in the dignity of all,” said Dana Vickers, executive director of the ACLU of Maryland.
The Maryland General Assembly fast-tracked the cross-filed bills after introducing them on Jan. 22 amid growing concerns about ICE activity in cities nationwide.
“Across the country, the overwhelming majority of folks who have been detained through 287(g) were never convicted of a crime,” said Vickers. “Families were separated, trust was removed, and police relations with the community were strained.”
Moore laid out the purpose behind these newly enacted pieces of legislation.
“What this bill does is draw a very clear line,” said Moore at the bill signing. “It says that in Maryland, we defend constitutional rights and we defend constitutional policing. We refuse to blur the lines between state and federal authority in ways that undermine the trust between law enforcement and the communities that they serve.”
Moore added that public safety is his priority, criticizing current ICE operations.
“Safety in our communities does not come from having untrained, unqualified and unaccountable personnel patrolling American streets,” he said.
Maryland is home to 1.1 million immigrants, about 17 percent of the state’s population, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. Nationwide, immigrants make up roughly 14 percent of the population, including 471,700 noncitizens in Maryland.
Opponents, including the Maryland Freedom Caucus, warned the bills could limit jail cooperation with federal authorities, disrupt transfers, and increase confrontations.
“The Maryland Democrats’ number one goal for this session is to protect criminal illegals,” said Del. Lauren Arikan (R-Md.-7B). “Baltimore ICE arrests more child predators than any other field office in the nation. While the rest of the state can barely afford their outrageous energy bills, Democrats are making sure more child rapists get out of jail.”
During the bill signing, Moore stressed that the legislation does not jeopardize public safety.
“This legislation does not authorize the release of criminals,” said Moore. “It does not prevent Maryland from working with the federal government to hold violent offenders accountable. We will continue to coordinate on shared public safety priorities, including the lawful removal of non-citizen offenders who pose a risk to public safety.”
Photo Credit: Chart courtesy of CATO Institute
House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Md.-21) highlighted immigrants’ low incarceration rates and how they truly come to the U.S. for a better life and not to commit crimes.
“As someone who came to this country when I was eight, who came here with a mother who did not speak a word of English–and neither did my parents–and who struggled to make ends meet, I can stand here and tell you that immigrants have a lowest rates of people that are incarcerated,” she said.
The Cato Institute reports that by age 33, native-born Americans born in the 1990s are more than two-and-a-half times as likely to be incarcerated as immigrants.
“In our state, we value respect,” said Melnyk. “We value people’s contribution. We value the Constitution. We value and support and protect civil rights.”