Frederick County’s 18-year partnership with ICE ended when Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a ban on 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements this week that had been approved by the Maryland General Assembly.
287(g) agreements allow local law enforcement to receive training needed to assist ICE in their immigration enforcement activities. Nine Maryland counties participated in such partnerships, with Frederick holding the oldest program in the US.
Efforts to bar local jurisdictions from partnering with ICE stalled out in 2025 as state lawmakers feared retaliation from the Trump administration. This new ban passed the House of Delegates and State Senate earlier this month before Moore signed it on Tuesday.
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins confirmed that 287(g) activities were terminated effective immediately upon the governor signing the bill. Moore argued the policy left residents living in fear, but Jenkins asserted the ban may lead to unintended consequences. “I think pretty quickly, you're…going to see a greater presence of ICE agents in Frederick County,” Jenkins explained.
In light of this, Frederick’s Sheriff is working with organizations to determine if there is an avenue to challenge the ban in court.
287(g) and Frederick
Frederick first formed its relation with ICE in 2008. While 287(g) agreements can follow multiple methods, the Sheriff’s office utilized the jailhouse model (JHM). Under the JHM, immigration status was asked for as part of the booking process at a correctional facility, after an arrest.
Jenkins clarified that no efforts were made to ascertain immigration status during an officer's day-to-day work. Asking during booking was standard procedure, he explained, and everyone was asked regardless of who they were.
In a statement, Maryland Public Defender Natasha M. Dartigue argued, “For nearly twenty years, 287(g) agreements have allowed ICE to use Maryland's local law enforcement as
a deportation pipeline — tearing families apart, stripping individuals of due process, and destroying the community's trust in our justice system.”
Gov. Moore argued recent events have displayed the ineffectiveness of immigration enforcement by ICE and through the 287(g) programs. In a letter to local leaders, he assured public safety was his primary concern and asserted, “Nothing about the law changes your ability to work with the federal government on criminal investigations and joint task forces unrelated to civil immigration enforcement, nor does the law authorize or require the release of dangerous criminals.”
Rejecting these claims, Jenkins argued without the 287(g) program, they wouldn't have the means to identify who is undocumented and who is not. Instead of reducing ICE’s presence in the county, the Sheriff said it could have the opposite effect. “[ICE’s] job is to catch criminals…they’re going to carry that out.” Jenkins said. “If they can’t get our cooperation in the jail, they’re going to find those individuals outside of the jail.”
It is safer to ask for immigration status in a jail than out on the street, Jenkins believes, as it is a controlled environment. He described a snowball effect, stating concerns the ban could draw criminals like a magnet. “It places Marylanders at risk by saying, ‘You know what? Criminals will come into Maryland. You’re not going to be held accountable. You’re not going to be turned over to ICE,’” Jenkins said. “It’s going to invite criminality from people in this country illegally who intend on committing crimes.”
Despite the ban, there are other ways to cooperate with ICE, Jenkins said, though those may be less effective.
