ICE and its federal partners, including the ATF, conduct an enhanced enforcement operation in Baltimore Jan. 31. (Photo courtesy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Maryland police leaders face an unprecedented crisis in American law enforcement. The Trump administration’s deployment of masked federal agents, militarization of immigration enforcement and attempted use of National Guard troops for civilian policing represents a fundamental threat to constitutional governance and professional law enforcement.
The current federal approach bears little resemblance to traditional law enforcement. More than 75% of people booked into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in fiscal year 2025 had no criminal conviction other than an immigration or traffic-related offense, with less than 10% convicted of serious crimes like murder, assault, robbery or rape.
This isn’t targeted enforcement of dangerous criminals; it’s indiscriminate sweeps of immigrant communities.
Federal agents hide their faces during arrests. U.S. citizens have been detained by masked agents in plain clothes. These are methods of authoritarian regimes, not constitutional democracies.
Federal law enforcement resources are being diverted wholesale from their core missions. FBI agents, U.S. Marshals, ATF agents, DEA agents and Homeland Security personnel who should be investigating terrorism, organized crime, drug-related crimes and white-collar crimes are instead conducting immigration sweeps.
Against this backdrop, Maryland’s expansion of 287(g) participation from three to eight sheriff’s offices in 2025 entangles local police in a fundamentally compromised federal operation. When Maryland agencies sign 287(g) agreements, they become part of a system that operates without accountability, violates constitutional norms and destroys community trust.
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Research shows 287(g) programs significantly reduce violent crime reporting among victims. In Maryland’s diverse communities, home to significant immigrant populations in Baltimore, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Frederick County and elsewhere, domestic violence victims won’t call police, witnesses won’t cooperate with homicide investigations and human-trafficking victims will remain hidden – subjected to greater risk.
The current federal immigration enforcement crisis makes community policing principles more essential than ever. Decades of research demonstrate that effective policing requires community cooperation, trust and legitimacy. When communities view police as partners in public safety, crime reporting increases, witness cooperation improves and crime prevention becomes possible.
Many Maryland agencies have invested in community policing models, building relationships with neighborhood groups and earning legitimacy through fair treatment of all residents. These relationships take years to build but can be destroyed overnight.
The Trump administration’s aggressive tactics are already creating fear in immigrant communities across Maryland. Children are afraid to go to school. Workers won’t report wage theft or workplace safety violations. Domestic violence victims are staying in dangerous situations.
For Maryland police leaders, this environment demands a choice: Double down on community policing efforts or sacrifice community trust and collaborative problem solving for politicized federal immigration priorities. There is no middle ground.
Professional law enforcement organizations, the Police Executive Research Forum, Major Cities Chiefs Association and International Association of Chiefs of Police, all warn that immigration enforcement by local police fundamentally undermines community trust and public safety.
Maryland chiefs and sheriffs have professional and constitutional obligations that transcend federal pressure. They must maintain operational independence, protect constitutional policing, preserve community relationships, consider exiting 287(g) where applicable, resist militarization and document federal overreach.
Maryland has worked for decades to professionalize law enforcement, implement community policing and build trust with diverse populations. Community policing isn’t just a buzzword – it’s an operational necessity that enables police to solve crimes, prevent violence and maintain public safety.
This moment demands that Maryland police leaders remember why community policing principles emerged in the first place: because enforcement-only models don’t work. Aggressive, militarized policing that treats communities as occupied territory creates the conditions for crime to flourish by destroying the community cooperation that effective policing requires.
The question facing Maryland police leaders isn’t whether immigration law should be enforced, that’s a federal policy matter. The question is whether local police will maintain their professional integrity and constitutional obligations in the face of federal overreach.
The evidence is clear: 287(g) participation exacerbates every problem created by the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. Maryland police leaders who prioritize public safety, constitutional governance and professional policing must reject this false choice between federal cooperation and their core mission. Their loyalty is to the Constitution, to professional standards and to the communities they serve, not to a federal administration that has abandoned all three.