In a significant move against federal immigration enforcement, Maryland Governor Wes Moore has signed a bill that prohibits state and local police from collaborating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This decision is poised to alter the landscape of immigration policy in the state.
On Tuesday, the 47-year-old governor officially ended 287(g) agreements through two emergency orders. These agreements previously allowed local law enforcement to act on behalf of ICE in certain situations.
“In Maryland, we refuse to allow untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable agents to deputize our brave local law enforcement officers. Maryland is a community of immigrants,” Moore declared, according to CBS News. “This is not a sign of our weakness.”
Moore, who is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party and a potential contender for the 2028 presidential race, has faced criticism from some who view him as overconfident.
However, not all reactions to Moore’s decision have been positive. Tricia McLaughlin, an Assistant Secretary, expressed concern over the state’s new direction. “Maryland is treading a dangerous path,” she stated in a comment to the Daily Mail.
“By banning cooperation with ICE, Maryland’s sanctuary politicians are risking public safety. They are effectively releasing criminals from custody into our communities, increasing the likelihood of further crimes and more victims,” McLaughlin warned.
The 287(g) agreements are set to end by July 2026, but are currently in effect across nine Maryland counties.
The agreements allow corrections officers to flag and detain non-citizens for 24 hours and lets them serve and execute warrants for ICE detainees.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore was all smiles as he signs two emergency bills that will stop law enforcement from working with ICE
President Trump has taken on Moore as an adversary amidst disagreement over a burst pipe in the Potomac River
Maryland is one of several states to end 287(g) agreements, which in some cases allow local law enforcement to perform ICE’s duties
Other states, including New York, Massachusetts, Oregon and Illinois, have passed similar laws.
Moore’s Senior Communications Strategist, Rhyan Lake, told the Daily Mail: ‘No amount of lies Trump tells will distract the American people from the fact that ICE is terrorizing communities and killing American citizens under his watch, while arresting fewer and fewer violent offenders.
‘Governor Moore has been clear: Maryland will continue to work with federal partners to hold violent offenders accountable, but we refuse to allow untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable ICE agents to deputize local law enforcement officers.’
Moore’s controversial bill comes amid his ongoing feud with the Trump administration over sewage in the Potomac River.
The president criticized Moore after a DC jurisdiction pipe ruptured in January, reported AP.
‘There is a massive Ecological Disaster unfolding in the Potomac River as a result of the Gross Mismanagement of Local Democrat Leaders, particularly Governor Wes Moore of Maryland,’ the president wrote on Truth Social.
‘It is clear Local Authorities cannot adequately handle this calamity.’
The 1960s-era pipe, known as the Potomac Interceptor, is managed by DC Water and is under regulation by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Moore has gotten flack from the president over a burst pipe in the Potomac which is under D jurisdiction
Trump and Moore have had disagreements over the Francis Scott Key Bridge which toppled in 2024
Trump has also called Moore ‘the foul-mouthed Governor of Maryland’ and criticized him for ‘doing a terrible job of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge’ in Baltimore.
The bridge toppled in 2024 after being hit by a container ship.
Moore is a former investment banker and US Army Captain elected to political office when he won the gubernatorial race in 2023.
Trump has previously claimed that Moore lied about receiving military medals.
Last weekend, he declined to offer Moore a personal invitation to the upcoming White House dinner on February 20.
Moore, who is the only black governor in the country and the first in his state’s history, was one of just two governors who were not invited to the meeting.
Moore was one of two US governor’s not invited to Trump’s White House dinner on January 20
Trump said Moore and Colorado Governor Jared Polis were ‘not worthy of being there.’
Moore hit back at the snub, saying he answers to the people of Maryland, not the president.
‘Well, I can’t speak to the president’s heart, I can speak to his actions,’ Moore told CBS News.
‘And I do want to be clear to the president, respectfully, you do not determine my worthiness. God determines my worthiness. The people of Maryland determine my worthiness. They are who I answer to, not him.
‘And I have been very clear with the people of my state that I will work with anyone, but I will bow down to no one. And I think the president has a problem with that,’ Moore said, adding that if the meeting is set to be full of ‘name-calling,’ he’s more than happy to skip it.
The Daily Mail contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
