Upward of 100 angry Baltimore County residents and advocates demanded answers and condemned County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s decision to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a rally Wednesday evening.
A memorandum of understanding, signed by County Administrator D’Andrea Walker last week, formalized a 2024 deal the previous county executive, Johnny Olszewski Jr., agreed to between the Baltimore County Department of Corrections and the federal government.
“It feels like the ground has shifted beneath us,” Maureen Wambui told the assembled crowd — bearing posters comparing President Donald Trump’s ICE to Adolf Hitler’s secret police.
Wambui, a proud Kenyan immigrant and Nottingham resident, spoke during Indivisible Baltimore County’s rally in front of the historic courthouse in Towson alongside the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, We Are Casa, a pastor from Woodbrook Baptist Church and Councilman Izzy Patoka.
The Pikesville Democrat, who is running to replace Klausmeier next year, used the rally to announce that he will introduce legislation during the Nov. 17 County Council meeting to limit ICE activity in Baltimore County.
“My parents were Holocaust survivors,” Patoka said. “They came to this country as immigrants, and this is the same thing that’s happening today.”
The councilmember added that his bill would limit the county’s ability to cooperate with immigration enforcement authorities but said he needed public support to ensure the legislation receives the four votes required to pass the council.
What does the MOU mean?
Baltimore County officials said the MOU is nothing different from the original agreement Olszewski made with ICE in 2024.
A copy of the Baltimore County Department of Corrections’ policy shows county officials are encouraged “to provide ICE with a forty-eight-hour notice” of any detainee’s release.
However, department policy not only encourages giving ICE notice but in certain instances requires holds.
If a federal judge has signed an immigration detainer for anyone under the county’s custody, the corrections department is required to hold that individual for 48 hours. If ICE does not pick up an inmate in that period, the individual may be released.
If anyone in county custody has a non-judicial detainer, then Baltimore County corrections must hold the individual for at least four hours.
David Rocah, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Maryland, spoke at the rally and said later that providing notification is not unconstitutional, but it’s also not legally required. He added that county doesn’t always have advance notice of a release.
However, he said, it’s the ACLU’s legal opinion that the holds are illegal.
“Holding someone for ICE whether for 48 hours, four hours or four minutes, is unconstitutional,” Rocah said.
Rocah said Baltimore County’s decision to sign a memorandum “formalizing” the original 2024 agreement was unusual in Maryland and he does not understand the county’s or federal government’s motivations.
He suggested the MOU was the Trump administration’s way of trying to “notch a meaningless victory.”
“Signing the MOU ensures that the County avoids risks to federal funding that is used to provide needed services to Baltimore County residents,” officials wrote in an FAQ posted Saturday to the county’s website.
During the rally, Rocah questioned the Klausmeier administration’s decision.
“Why sign anything at all?” he said.
From ‘sanctuary jurisdiction’ to fear
In August, the U.S. Department of Justice declared Baltimore County a “sanctuary jurisdiction,” which Klausmeier and other county officials have said was in error.
Many assumed the Trump administration confused Baltimore County with the city.
The Justice Department never informed the county it was on the list, Baltimore County spokesperson Erica Palmisano said, nor did it explain how the county wound up being included.
After Baltimore County signed the MOU last week, the Justice Department removed it from the “sanctuary jurisdiction” list.
“These aren’t terms of art,” said Rocah, explaining the phrase “sanctuary jurisdiction” does not have a legal definition. “This is a label the Trump administration applies to bully and coerce.”
Casey Latimer, a spokesperson for the Baltimore ICE field office, said sanctuary jurisdictions are a public safety threat.
“Sanctuary jurisdictions weaken the integrity of our nation’s immigration laws and endanger the lives of our officers, alien offenders and most importantly, our communities, by forcing officers to make at-large arrests,” Latimer wrote in a statement. “Thankfully, this will no longer be an issue within Baltimore County.”
Wambui urged Klausmeier and her administration to listen to their constituents and recited an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
This article has been updated with a statement from ICE and to clarify ACLU of Maryland attorney David Rocah's opinion on Baltimore County giving ICE notice before an inmate's release and holding them for the agency.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.