Maryland advances bills banning local police ICE agreements and mask-wearing by law enforcement.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A bill barring local law enforcement from entering into agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and another banning masks on law enforcement officers, have advanced in the Maryland state government.
The bills arrived amid nationwide concerns over the conduct of immigration enforcement, especially in Minneapolis, where at least two people were killed by federal law enforcement officers.
In Glen Burnie, a man was shot twice by ICE officers, with one bullet collapsing his lung.
Lawmakers who talked to WUSA9 said that ICE was making people in their communities feels “unsafe.”
“If people don’t feel safe, nothing else matters,” said Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City)
Both the House and the Senate passed a law that would stop municipalities from cooperating with ICE and terminate agreements that are already on the books.
There are eight jurisdictions that currently have agreements with ICE, including Allegany, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, St. Mary’s, and Washington counties.
“These partnerships, fundamentally as ICE operates, they are operating in a way that is abhorrent to Maryland values,” Ferguson said.
The bill passed in the Senate, 32-12, and, in the House, 99-40.
The bill would go into effect if Governor Wes Moore were to sign it. The governor has been critical of ICE in the past.
The Senate also passed a law that would ban law enforcement — including ICE — from wearing masks.
ICE and other anti-immigration agencies routinely wear masks. The Trump administration has justified it, saying it is for the protection of the officers’ identity from activists and the press.
The prohibition on face coverings passed the Senate 31-13.
Maryland is considering other legislation challenging ICE, such as a bill that would ban agents from employment in state law enforcement agencies.