Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) has signed a new law that blocks local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration arrests. According to the new bill, signed on Tuesday, nine sheriff’s offices in Maryland are ordered to dissolve their agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Moore signed the bill after he described ICE as an “unaccountable agency with seemingly unlimited resources.”
“We make a very clear statement to our community that we believe in your safety,” Moore said, per The Washington Post. “We believe in making sure that you are going to be safe from violent offenders, and we also believe in making sure that you are safe from unaccountable agents as well.”
What are other states that have blocked local law enforcement from partnering with ICE?
Much like Maryland, New Mexico has also blocked local law enforcement from assisting ICE. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed the bill two weeks before Maryland passed its legislation. Some of the other states that have passed similar laws are Washington, Illinois, California, Oregon, New Jersey, Maine, Delaware and Connecticut. New York is also considering similar legislation, the Post reported.
Still, many other states allow 287(g) partnerships, agreements that allow local officers to assist ICE in detaining immigrants who are allegedly staying in the country illegally. The Department of Homeland Security, which had 135 287(g) partnership agreements across the country when Donald Trump started his second term, has now expanded its collaboration to more than 1,300 agencies, per the Post.
What is Gov. Wes Moore saying about dissolving the state’s partnership with ICE?
After signing the bill on Tuesday, Moore said Maryland is determined to “defend Constitutional rights and Constitutional policing.”
“We will not allow untrained, unqualified and unaccountable ICE agents to deputize our law enforcement officers,” Moore said, per The Grio. “This bill draws a clear line: we will continue to work with federal partners to hold violent offenders accountable, but we refuse to blur the lines between state and federal authority in ways that undermine the trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”
Moore is the only Black governor in the country, according to The Grio. The governor hails Maryland as “a community of immigrants.”
“That’s one of our greatest strengths because this country is incomplete without each and every one of us,” he said.
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