Maryland Ends Federal Immigration Enforcement Partnerships as Democratic States Push Back Against Trump Policies

Maryland has become the latest Democratic-led state to halt cooperation with federal immigration authorities after Governor Wes Moore signed legislation Tuesday prohibiting local law enforcement from participating in immigration enforcement agreements with the federal government.

For nearly two decades, officers at Frederick County’s jail have routinely asked inmates about their citizenship and birthplace, initiating investigations into immigration status when answers indicated foreign birth. Since 2008, the county has transferred 1,884 people to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to Sheriff Charles Jenkins.

The new Maryland law reflects growing resistance from Democratic-controlled states against President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. Ten states with Democratic leadership now prohibit law enforcement from participating in the 287(g) program, one of Trump’s primary tools for implementing mass deportations.

“There needs to be accountability for this organization, because right now the Trump-Vance ICE operation is not moving with proper accountability measures,” Moore told reporters after signing the legislation.

Similar laws have recently taken effect in New Mexico and Maine, while New York Governor Kathy Hochul has backed legislation to prohibit local officers from being deputized by ICE. In Virginia, Governor Abigail Spanberger recently terminated state ICE agreements signed by her Republican predecessor, though her order didn’t cancel existing arrangements with local sheriffs.

Democratic pushback has intensified amid increasing scrutiny of the administration’s large-scale immigration raids and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minnesota.

The 287(g) program, named for a section of a 1996 immigration law, allows ICE to train local law enforcement to interrogate and detain individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. Trump has significantly expanded the program beyond the limited jail-based model used during the Biden administration, reintroducing street enforcement teams that President Obama had discontinued due to racial profiling concerns.

Participation has grown dramatically since Trump took office, from 135 agreements in 20 states to more than 1,400 agreements across 41 states and territories. About 800 of these are task force agreements that grant the most extensive authority. As incentives, ICE offers agencies signing task force agreements $100,000 for new vehicles, plus salary coverage, benefits, and equipment stipends for trained officers.

Republican-led Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Texas have mandated jail participation in the program, accounting for half of all 287(g) agreements nationwide. This expansion aligns with increased federal funding, including $150 billion for immigration enforcement allocated in last year’s tax legislation, with substantial portions designated for hiring 10,000 ICE agents and expanding detention facilities.

Nine Maryland counties with Republican sheriffs currently maintain cooperative agreements with ICE, all of which must terminate under the new law that passed with strong support in the Democratic-controlled legislature.

House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, who immigrated from the Dominican Republic as a child, praised the bill as a reflection of Maryland’s values: “We value empathy. We value peoples’ contribution. We value the Constitution. We value and support and protect civil rights.”

Critics, including Frederick County Sheriff Jenkins, argue the termination will endanger public safety. “I’m extremely disappointed with the legislation because really and truly, it’s going to put the public at risk in a lot of ways,” he said.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler, whose agency has transferred approximately 430 inmates to ICE over nine years, warned that ending cooperative agreements might increase federal presence. “I think what you’ll see is more immigrant enforcement, not less. Our program was the safest way and the best way to identify people” in the country illegally.

The Department of Homeland Security echoed this sentiment, stating the law “will make Maryland less safe” and increase federal workload. “When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities,” the department stated.

The legislative pushback mirrors growing public discomfort with Trump’s immigration tactics. An AP-NORC poll indicates about six in ten Americans believe Trump has “gone too far” in deploying federal immigration agents into U.S. cities, with political independents increasingly uncomfortable with these methods.

“The growing public pushback against Trump’s immigration enforcement – especially in more Democratic-leaning states – has created political pressure and a political opening to pass laws like the one in Maryland,” explained Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council.

Similar legislation is advancing in Virginia, where the state Senate recently passed a bill placing significant restrictions on any proposed 287(g) agreements.