Bills to ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) partnerships with local law enforcement and prohibit agents from wearing face coverings in Maryland had their first legislative hearing Thursday.
After over three hours of debate and public testimony, the bills still have to clear a committee vote before heading to the Senate floor.
SB0245 is Maryland Democrats’ second legislative attempt to restrict local law enforcement from collaborating with ICE
The bill died last year after lawmakers expressed concerns over retaliation from the Trump administration for banning ICE partnerships — known as 287(g) agreements — but Democrats have since shifted their stance
Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and Chair Will Smith (D-Montgomery County), who is sponsoring the bill, says the Trump administration is harming Maryland regardless of the policies it puts in place.
“We need to enshrine our values into law and into the Constitution when necessary, like we did with the right to choose, because you can't control what someone else is going to do. You've got to live up to your values and enshrine them into law,” Smith said.
287(g) agreements give local law enforcement — or in Maryland’s case, correctional officers — the ability to aid in certain immigration enforcement tactics, and Smith says it’s time for these partnerships to come to an end.
“We've worked really hard in this General Assembly over the last few years to restore a once fractured relationship between law enforcement and the communities that they serve, most particularly and most prominently through our efforts of police reform,” Smith said. “The 287(g) program undermines that trust in law enforcement by creating an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust with the community members who may choose to avoid law enforcement for fear of racial profiling and deportation.”
While five of Maryland’s county agreements were signed last year, Frederick County has one of the longest-standing 287(g) agreements in the country.
Frederick County participates in what’s known as the Jail Enforcement Model, which allows correctional officers to identify and process undocumented immigrants held in their local detention center.
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins signed the agreement back in 2008 and has overseen the partnership ever since, calling it a “phenomenal public safety program.”
“We simply don't return criminals back onto the street. We hand those individuals off to ICE in a safe setting in a detention center,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins worries that ending the 287(g) program could open up Maryland to more boots-on-the-ground ICE operations that have been sparking nationwide discourse over the past year.
“But I fear, this is my fear — if this legislature passes this law, this bill, you may well see what you're seeing on television across the country. None of us want that. None of us need that. Our communities don't want to see that. So let's step back and take a look at common sense and common reasoning,” Jenkins said. “Let's stick with the program that works, the jail model 287(g), and let the counties that want to implement this program do so to keep their citizens safe.”
But Stephanie Wolf, director of the Immigration Services Division within the Maryland Public Defender’s Office, says the data does not support Jenkins concerns.
“Data from around the country shows that states with more 287(g) agreements have more total ICE arrests overall, and they have more ICE arrests in the community,” Wolf said, additionally pointing out the data does not support that immigration enforcement activities are targeting the most violent offenders.
“Over seven years of the 287(g) program in Maryland, for every one 287(g) detainer placed on a person with a serious violent conviction, there were 115 detainers placed on people with no conviction at all.”
The bill has the support of the Maryland Senate president — who’s one of the prime sponsors — and the House speaker.
The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee also heard testimony on SB0001, which would prohibit certain law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings while performing duties in Maryland.
Similar legislation has popped up in other states after repeated documentation of some ICE agents covering their faces and refusing to identify themselves.
In his opening remarks, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince George’s County), argued there is no tactical benefit to wearing a mask during operations that are not undercover.
“That practice undermines community trust and makes us all less safe,” he said.
Those in opposition raised concerns over doxxing federal agents, constitutional challenges and jail time being too severe of a punishment for officers who cover their face.
With a Democratic majority in both chambers and support from the presiding officers, the bills are likely to pass, but they still have several hurdles to cross before reaching Gov. Wes Moore’s desk.
