Harford, Carroll, Frederick sheriffs join for public message to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore about ICE

Brendan Nordstrom, Baltimore Sun on Feb 9, 2026

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BALTIMORE — Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler, appearing in Edgewood alongside sheriffs and leaders from several other Maryland jurisdictions Monday afternoon, called on Gov. Wes Moore to reject a bill ending local law enforcement cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE.

The bill, which passed both the Maryland House and Senate last week, would prohibit 287(g) agreements, which give ICE authority over state and local law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement duties.

The bills are being sent to the opposite chambers for consideration. Because the measures are identical, each chamber is expected to pass the other’s version before sending the legislation to the governor’s desk for his signature.

Harford County is one of eight Maryland counties that participate in 287(g) agreements — Allegany, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, St. Mary’s and Washington are the others.

Cecil, Frederick and Harford operate under a “jail model,” which authorizes correctional officers to screen detainees for immigration status and contact ICE. Other counties use the “warrant model,” under which officers cooperate with ICE only when there is an active Department of Homeland Security warrant.

Gahler, who has been a vocal advocate of 287(g) agreements, emphasized how his county participates in a “corrections-based program” for ICE to fulfill its mission in a jail, rather than being out in communities. He implored the governor not to sign this “terrible piece of legislation.”

“This is good public safety,” Gahler said Monday. “The same reason I joined this program is to not open my jail door and put a criminal back out to the community who poses a threat to the citizens that I’m supposed to protect.”

Proponents of the ban on 287(g) agreements said the bill’s intention is to rebuild trust between police and immigrant communities.

“We have laws. We have due process,” Del. Gabriel Acevero, a Montgomery County Democrat, said in support of the bill. “Public safety does not mean deputizing local police to do the work of immigration agents. In Maryland, we won’t be complicit in what we’re seeing nationally.”

Under the agreements, counties may hold detainees for up to 48 additional hours to allow ICE to take custody. The legislation would not bar law enforcement from notifying ICE altogether but would prohibit formal cooperation agreements and require changes to existing ones.

Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees said he will “continue to work with ICE,” even if the bill passes. He said he plans to create a policy within his office similar to the one in place now.

“They know that ICE is not going away and there has to be a process of communication with them,” DeWees said at the news conference. “Annapolis is trying to pull a quick one on people.”

Frederick Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, who said he has the longest 287(g) agreement in the country, said he will try to find legal representation to get the matter into court.

DeWees, Jenkins and Gahler are all Republicans running for reelection this year.

Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered on the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air in 2023, spoke in favor of the agreements. Morin said her daughter’s killer, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, of El Salvador, entered the country illegally before he killed Rachel.

“I’m really so very angry that Gov. Moore would do something like this instead of thinking about the families that have paid the ultimate price,” Morin said. “I don’t want another family, another mother to feel this sorrow, this devastation.”

Gahler also talked about the 2022 murder of Kayla Hamilton, who was killed by a 17-year-old from El Salvador who also entered the country illegally and was a member of MS-13.

Harford County has been a part of the 287(g) program for about eight years, Gahler said.

Moore said Friday that he planned to sign the bill once it comes across his desk.

“We are going to do everything in our power to keep people safe, but that does not mean deputizing the people who are keeping people safe to go perform functions by a rogue ICE agency,” Moore said Friday in Howard County. “I’m looking forward to signing (the bill).”

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(Mennatalla Ibrahim and April Santana contributed to this article.)

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