Maryland Governor Wes Moore Signs Emergency Legislation Banning 287G

State of MD - This morning, Maryland's Governor Wes Moore signed emergency legislation that will effectively ban the 287g agreements that allowed law enforcement agencies to safely partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In the past, State agencies were able to partner with ICE in the 287g but starting today, that is no longer an option. With the 287g program, correctional officers were able to notify ICE that an individual without US Citizenship was arrested and would have the ability to hold said individual for an additional 48 hours.

In addition to the 48 hour hold, the jails were able to serve ICE warrants for those wanted on immigration issues. That will no longer be an option here in the State of Maryland.

To break it down in basic terms, in the past, with the 287g program, jail officials could work with ICE to make sure these individuals were handled in a safe environment indoors in the jail, and NOT on the streets.

Now, what will happen is if the same individual is wanted for immigration issues, from a warrant that is not serviceable here in Maryland, that person will be released if they are not held on the charges they were originally arrested for.

Therefore, they will be released back into our community and then ICE will have to go out and attempt to find them on the streets, in our communities, which most would agree is a much less safer environment than taking custody of the individual inside a jail.

To be clear and to eliminate rumors, what Governor Moore signed today does NOT get rid of ICE in the State of Maryland, it only gets rid of the 287g agreement.