ANNAPOLIS, Md. – House Minority Leader Jason Buckel and House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy released the following joint statement in response to Governor Moore signing the ban on 287g programs into law.
“Eliminating the 287g program seems to be only about political theater rather than public safety or even effective policy making. It is important to separate fact from fiction.
First, no local law enforcement officers are involved in apprehending or investigating immigration violations – that is the federal government’s job.
Second, six counties in Maryland use an unofficial model where they cooperate with ICE to enforce actual warrants for undocumented immigrants held in their local jails, and those programs can continue legally.
Third, three jurisdictions use ‘jail models’ with enhanced formal cooperation to identify convicted or suspected criminals in their custody who are here illegally, alert ICE to their status, and help facilitate transferring them to federal custody before they are released, which would otherwise require armed ICE agents in communities searching to apprehend the individual.
While those formal written agreements will be made illegal under today’s display of political virtue signaling over common sense, elected Sheriffs in each of those counties have made it clear they will continue to work informally with ICE to make sure criminal illegal aliens in their local jails are identified for legitimate federal enforcement, which the bill’s sponsors have explicitly recognized can continue to occur.
At the end of the day, all this legislation does is make it harder for law enforcement to protect our public safety by throwing up additional roadblocks to agency cooperation. It also increases the chances of ICE operations with armed officers in our communities, and the possibility of negative interactions and the chaotic and tragic events we have seen in places like Minneapolis, a jurisdiction that has recently agreed to provide more cooperation with ICE via the types of agreements Maryland is banning under this law. Finally, it burnishes the far-left political résumés of politicians seeking national attention rather than putting local public safety first.”