Opponents of 287(g) agreements that allow police, sheriff’s departments and jails to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security on immigration enforcement announced they’ll once again fight to pass legislation to ban the agreements statewide.
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said he’ll join that effort.
Ferguson said in a social media post he was alarmed by what he called the “lawlessness” of ICE enforcement actions. The Baltimore Banner reported that Ferguson will be making the issue a priority heading into the 2026 General Assembly session in Annapolis in January.
A similar measure introduced in the last legislative session in Annapolis failed.
Maryland State Del. Nicole Williams, whose district includes neighborhoods in Prince George’s County that have hundreds of immigrants from South and Central America as well as Haiti, Nigeria and Cameroon, attended a rally in Baltimore announcing the plans to ban the agreements.
“We have not seen any data that has actually shown that having these agreements in place actually enhance law enforcement,” she told WTOP.
Instead, Williams said, the agreements generate fear in immigrant communities, making them less likely to step forward and report crimes when they do occur.
“What we want to do is foster, really, a community where people feel comfortable engaging with law enforcement,” she said. “Our law enforcement officers have been able to capture some of the worst of the worst of these individuals without these agreements.”
Eight Maryland jurisdictions have 287(g) agreements in place, including Frederick, Carroll, Washington, Allegany, Garrett, Harford, Cecil and St. Mary’s counties.
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins is a staunch supporter of the program, which he said has been in place in Frederick County since 2008.
“Frederick County is much safer because of the program,” Jenkins said. “Senate President Bill Ferguson is wrong on this issue. Every Democrat in the legislature is wrong on this issue. They need to leave the counties alone that wish to implement the program to allow sheriffs to keep their counties safe.”
Jenkins said he would oppose any legislation designed to do away with the program.
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