A recent investigation by FOX45 News has shed light on Baltimore County’s approach to handling immigration detainers filed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The findings reveal that the county frequently ignores these detainers, even when unlawful residents are charged with committing crimes within its jurisdiction.
Between October 2022 and September 2023, ICE filed 81 detainers in Baltimore County, requesting local law enforcement to keep individuals incarcerated until federal immigration officials could take them into custody. However, a staggering 70% of these detainers were not honored, resulting in the release of the individuals before they could be handed over to immigration authorities.
Baltimore County is considered a sanctuary jurisdiction, with county police prohibited from arresting or detaining individuals solely based on their immigration status. This policy was formalized in 2017 through an executive order signed by then-County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, which states: “No Baltimore County Police Officer shall arrest, detain, or extend the stop or detention of an individual on the basis of a civil administrative warrant, a prior deportation order, any other document relating to a civil immigration violation, or an alleged violation of civil immigration laws.”
The Baltimore County Police Department’s field manual reinforces this stance, prohibiting the agency from continuing detention “on the basis of an immigration warrant” or even the “suspicion of immigration violations.”
Interestingly, Baltimore County does not keep track of the specific crimes allegedly committed by the unlawful immigrants who have detainers lodged against them. The police department acknowledged that this information is captured in the “arrest narrative” portion of police reports and is not easily searchable or extractable from their databases.
While the county claims to contact ICE when aware of an active detainer against a person in custody, it maintains that it will not hold anyone “without a lawful basis.” This stance has drawn criticism from some quarters, particularly in light of recent incidents, such as the arrest of an unlawful resident in Baltimore wanted for manslaughter in the Dominican Republic.
The issue of sanctuary policies and cooperation with federal immigration authorities remains a contentious topic, with Baltimore County’s approach reflecting the broader debates surrounding immigration enforcement and local jurisdictions’ role in the process.CopyRetry