Maryland Ends Local ICE Partnerships as Governor Signs Emergency Immigration Law

By Stacy M. Brown

Senior Global Correspondent

Gov. Wes Moore has signed emergency legislation barring Maryland’s state and local law enforcement agencies from entering into agreements with federal immigration authorities that allow local officers to carry out civil immigration enforcement duties, immediately ending the state’s participation in the long-running 287(g) program.

“In Maryland, we defend constitutional rights and constitutional policing—and we will not allow untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable ICE agents to deputize our law enforcement officers,” Moore said at the signing ceremony in the State House.

“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. Maryland is a community of immigrants, and that’s one of our greatest strengths because this country is incomplete without each and every one of us.”

The measure, passed as Senate Bill 245 and House Bill 444, took effect immediately upon the governor’s signature. It prohibits jurisdictions from participating in agreements under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to delegate certain federal immigration enforcement powers to state and local officers. Under the new law, any Maryland jurisdiction with a standing 287(g) agreement must terminate it at once.

The 287(g) program was created as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. According to ICE, the program authorizes designated officers to perform specified immigration functions under federal oversight and includes several models, such as the Jail Enforcement Model and the Warrant Service Officer program. As of mid-February, ICE reported 1,427 active memorandums of agreement covering 40 states.

Supporters of the Maryland legislation argue that such partnerships erode trust between immigrant communities and local police, making residents less likely to report crimes or cooperate with investigations. Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller described the bill as personal.

“As an immigrant, this bill is deeply personal to me,” Miller said. “Immigrants make Maryland stronger every day, and our communities are safer when everyone feels protected and valued. This legislation ensures that our law enforcement resources remain focused on keeping Marylanders safe, not on actions that create fear in our neighborhoods.”

The law does not authorize the release of people charged with crimes, nor does it prevent cooperation with federal authorities on criminal investigations or the removal of violent offenders. State and local agencies may still notify ICE about the impending release of an individual of interest and coordinate transfers within constitutional limits, according to the governor’s office.

Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, whose office had participated in the 287(g) program since 2008, said he would comply with the new law but warned that ending the agreements would weaken public safety. “Eighteen years in the program, we have placed into deportation with ICE 1,884 criminals,” Jenkins told reporters. “How much safer are we?”

In a separate statement, Republican State Senator Justin Ready, who represents Carroll and Frederick Counties, said, ending the program doesn’t end federal enforcement. “It just ends local coordination that included documentation, training support, and funding from the federal government,” Ready stated. “Cooperation between local and federal law enforcement produces greater public safety for everyone.”

A similar proposal failed in the General Assembly last year. This year’s version was designated emergency legislation and moved swiftly through both chambers before arriving on the governor’s desk. At the signing ceremony, Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones joined the governor, along with community advocates and law enforcement officials.

“It’s not lost on me that this is my first bill signing,” Jones said. “In our state, we value respect. We value empathy. We value people’s contribution. We value the Constitution. We value and support and protect civil rights. We are going to be unapologetic of the values we stand for.”

Advocates for immigrant rights organizations called the measure a first step and urged lawmakers to adopt additional safeguards.

“The bill to end 287(g) programs is a major victory, one that our coalition has fought for,” said Christianne Marguerite, director of communications at Progressive Maryland. “We must continue pushing for additional bills that will protect the greatest number of people, especially the most vulnerable.”