February 20, 2026
Under the law, nine sheriff’s offices in the state of Maryland will be forced to cut ICE agreements, helping agents take people accused of being in the country illegally into custody, immediately.
The nation’s sole Black governor, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, is standing against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, signing a law that bans local law enforcement agencies from facilitating federal immigration arrests.
But will they adhere to the law?
The Washington Post reported that under the Feb. 17 signed legislation, nine sheriff’s offices in the state of Maryland will be forced to cut ICE agreements, helping agents take people accused of being in the country illegally into custody immediately, including the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, which holds one of the country’s longest-running 287(g) agreements. Moore cited the reason behind the decision as ICE being an “unaccountable agency with seemingly unlimited resources.”
“We make a very clear statement to our community that we believe in your safety,” the governor said prior to signing.
“We believe in making sure that you are going to be safe from violent offenders, and also we believe in making sure that you are safe from unaccountable agents as well.”
According to reporting, 287(g) agreements allow correctional officers to be trained to screen individuals entering a correctional facility for citizenship or immigration status, to notify DHS of individuals suspected of being in the country illegally, and to execute detainers and administrative warrants issued by DHS.
The legislation is in crowded company, as leaders in Virginia, Washington, Illinois, California, Oregon, New Jersey, Maine, Delaware, Connecticut, and New Mexico have signed similar laws, but not everyone agrees with it.
Former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan claimed it won’t work because law enforcement will “ignore” it, calling it an “overreach and overstep.”
“Yesterday, in my state, they just passed a bill. Gov. Moore signed an emergency bill to prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE.
And, you know, all the local law enforcement officers are saying, ‘We’re going to ignore that because we’re required to work with them,’” he said, according to The Hill.
“So I get the whole, you know, overreach and overstep and doing the wrong things, but, you know, when they have violent criminals that they’re holding in jail that ICE wants to be detained, they, you know, they shouldn’t be let back on the street. So there are two sides to this argument.”
Some sheriff’s offices seem to be siding with Hogan, with Wicomico County Sheriff Michael Lewis labeling the law as a betrayal.
“It is the biggest betrayal to law enforcement and public safety that I have ever seen,” Lewis said.
He continued to touch on the ongoing efforts of immigration advocates and leaders of ‘Abolish ICE,’ who are doing nothing.
“And whether you believe it or not, 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 in Sanctuary states,” he continued.
“Mark my words. You will see a dramatic increase in the presence of ICE in this state.”
However, they seem to have things twisted. Moore, who has been outspoken against ICE and the Trump administration since Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego García was detained and mistakenly deported to El Salvador in 2025, did not say the state will stop working with ICE, but the law will put boundaries in place. “This bill draws a clear line: we will continue to work with federal partners to hold violent offenders accountable, but we refuse to blur the lines between state and federal authority in ways that undermine the trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve,” Moore said.
“Maryland is a community of immigrants, and that’s one of our greatest strengths because this country is incomplete without each and every one of us.”
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