Three Maryland sheriffs recently signed agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to assist federal agents with their duties, according to ICE’s online list of participating law enforcement agencies.

The sheriffs in Carroll, Garrett and Washington counties agreed to start a “Warrant Service Officer” program in which ICE will train local deputies to serve and execute administrative warrants for people in their jails believed to be in the country without authorization.

They join the sheriff’s offices of Cecil, Frederick and Harford counties that have had similar agreements for years, doubling Maryland’s total of formal collaborations between ICE and local police to six.

There has been renewed focus on local law enforcement agencies choosing to assist ICE after President Donald Trump took office and promised mass deportations of the estimated millions of undocumented immigrants across the United States. The federal agency, however, has lacked much of the infrastructure necessary to do so quickly.

These agreements are hailed by the political right and some centrists as commonsense ways to streamline the removal of people who have committed crimes and are already in the hands of law enforcement. But many immigrant advocates and those on the political left claim the new level of cooperation can embolden racial profiling and lead to the collateral arrest of those who haven’t committed any crimes.

Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert said in an email that his deputies are awaiting ICE training and will follow the guidelines set by federal officials once they do. Sheriffs in Carroll and Garrett counties could not immediately be reached for comment.

Local law enforcement are “expected to pursue to completion all criminal charges” of those in their custody, according to the signed memoranda. ICE agents assume jurisdiction once a person has been released from local custody. It’s unclear if the agreements will lead to the transfer of individuals charged, but not convicted, of a crime.

On Tuesday afternoon, members of CASA, one of the largest immigrant advocacy organizations in Maryland, decried the new agreements and urged state lawmakers to end them. The group also called on the state legislature to pass a separate bill to create guidelines around ICE enforcement at “sensitive locations.”

Members of Baltimore’s City Council who attended the event Tuesday also condemned reports of ICE detaining individuals at its downtown field office without beds or hygiene products and with limited access to food and medicine as first reported by The Banner. The City Council members in attendance were Odette Ramos, Mark Parker, Zac Blanchard and Jermaine Jones.

“If you ask Americans a question like, ‘Should we have tighter borders?’ you will get a political answer. But if you ask Americans a question like, ‘Should parents be torn from their children? Should people who are being detained be allowed food or medicine?’ you will get very human answers,” Blanchard said.

In a previous statement, ICE has said the agency, “remains committed to enforcing immigration laws fairly, safely, and humanely, and ensures that holding facility operate in full compliance with federal laws, agency policies, and established standards to uphold the well-being and dignity of those in our custody.”

Ama Frimpong, CASA’s legal director, called ICE’s approach in Maryland and across the nation “a mass detention campaign built on racism and xenophobia. Period. This is about overpolicing and overcriminalizing Black and brown immigrants.”

These kinds of agreements “tear the very thin fabric of trust” between immigrant communities and law enforcement, and can lead to fewer people reporting crimes to police out of fear of additional consequences, said Julia Fernandez, a CASA member.

“I am outraged and you should be too,” said Ramos, a City Council member who highlighted immigrants’ contributions to the state. “The attack on our immigrant community is an attack on Baltimore.”