Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signs bill to end local law enforcement's cooperation with ICE

MARYLAND - Maryland Governor Wes Moore took a major step on immigration on Tuesday, signing emergency legislation that ends local law enforcement's formal cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  

 That emergency legislation takes effect immediately. 

Big picture view:

Moore says this is about constitutional policing and building trust at a time when so many Maryland immigrant communities are living in fear. 

The bill blocks state and local jurisdictions from deputizing officers for immigration enforcement activity, and prohibits agencies from having formal partnerships with ICE.

"We will not allow untrained, unqualified and unaccountable agents to deputize our brave local law enforcement," Moore said on Tuesday. "Because Maryland is a community of immigrants, It is not our weakness. It is our strength. This is not rhetoric. This is our reality."

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The governor says the change is meant to encourage cooperation with police, which is not happening right now in immigrant neighborhoods, and also to ensure that local law enforcement focuses on local crime. 

"There have been several studies from different times in our history showing that immigrants do not report crimes that they witness and that they're victims of because they're afraid of immigration retaliation from local police departments. This actually makes us more unsafe than ever. So, it is very important that Gov. Wes Moore recognizes that by drawing a line in the sand," immigration attorney Renata Castro said.

The Moore administration stresses this law does not prevent cooperation with federal authorities on criminal cases, and that Maryland is still committed to working with federal partners to hold violent offenders accountable.