Democrat Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed emergency legislation on Tuesday prohibiting local law enforcement from entering into formal 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but sheriffs are vowing to continue cooperation anyway, and Democrats behind the bills are admitting there is nothing that they can do to stop them.
The legislation, aimed at severing ties between state authorities and federal immigration enforcers, was touted by Democrats as a defense of “constitutional rights” and a stand against what they call untrained federal agents.
Unfortunately for illegal aliens and their Democrat defenders, just one day after the bills were signed, nine county sheriffs pushed back hard, announcing they will ignore the ban and maintain partnerships with ICE through informal means.
“It is the biggest betrayal to law enforcement and public safety that I have ever seen,” said Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis during a joint press conference with other sheriffs. “This is a sad day for Maryland, it really is. This is a sad day for Maryland.”
Lewis warned that ending 287(g) won’t stop ICE—it will only ramp up their presence.
“The abolishment of the 287(g) program is not the abolishment of ICE. They’re going nowhere. In fact, they’re going to intensify their efforts… Mark my words, you will see a dramatic increase in the presence of ICE in this state.”
The 287(g) program allows local jails to check immigration status and hold illegal immigrants for up to 48 hours for ICE pick up.
Maryland had nine such agreements, all in sheriff-run facilities, which must now terminate immediately under the new law.
Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler echoed Lewis’ sentiment, stating his office will continue sharing arrest information with ICE for detainers, even without formal MOUs.
“We’re going to provide ICE with the information of those people we arrest, so that they can file detainers,” Gahler said.
Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees has already implemented an internal policy to keep the cooperation going without violating the ban.
WATCH:
Maryland sheriffs furious that their governor just killed the 287(g) partnership with ICE.
No more quick handoffs of criminal aliens, now the worst offenders get released into communities.
This isn’t politics; it’s a deliberate choice to put citizens at risk. pic.twitter.com/V4y76Ldfq4
— Kim “Katie” USA (@KimKatieUSA) February 20, 2026
Gov. Moore, standing with Democrat leaders including House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk and Senate President, signed the bills while declaring, “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.”
The governor emphasized that the state would still collaborate on “the worst of the worst” crimes but drew a line against formal deputization.
Fox Baltimore reports that the Democrats understand their bills won’t really do anything:
Lawmakers behind the 287(g) ban acknowledged that limitation.
“We cannot say you cannot work with ICE there is federal supremacy. So we can say and we can make it state law, that there can’t be any formative agreement,” one lawmaker said.
A letter from Gov. Moore to the sheriffs clarified that the law doesn’t block notifications to ICE about releases of individuals of interest, underscoring the policy’s toothlessness.
The post WIN: Outraged Maryland Sheriffs Vow to Maintain ICE Cooperation Despite Gov. Wes Moore’s Ban on Formal Agreements (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.