What in the world is going on between Baltimore County and ICE?

In August, the U.S. Department of Justice declared Baltimore County a “sanctuary county,” putting it on the federal government’s list of jurisdictions that are violating federal directives to work with immigration officials.

Last week, Trump’s Justice Department officials removed the county from the list, saying the county “recently signed” an agreement to collaborate with ICE.

The announcement sparked outrage among some residents and county politicians, already upset at ICE’s aggressive enforcement tactics under the Trump administration. A rally is planned for Wednesday afternoon in Towson to protest the county’s cooperation with ICE.

But Baltimore County officials insist nothing’s changed since 2024, when they agreed informally to hold detainees in the county jail 48 hours if ICE wanted them. The deal with ICE was struck under the previous county executive, Johnny Olszewski Jr., now a congressman railing against ICE overreach.

“Nothing has changed,” said Dakarai Turner, press secretary for County Executive Kathy Klausmeier.

However, the county did sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) formalizing that 2024 agreement.

A spokesperson for the Baltimore ICE field office did not respond to a request for comment.

Here’s what to know about the complicated relationship.

A confused Justice Department?

Klausmeier said she believes the Trump Justice Department confused Baltimore County with Baltimore City. The county wraps around the city, and both have Democrats in power.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has sparred with the Trump Administration over multiple issues, including ICE raids.

While Baltimore is not a sanctuary city, because the city doesn’t control its jails, in April, Scott said: “We are a welcoming city. ... We are better because of our immigrant neighbors, and we are not about to sell them out to this administration.”

Baltimore County, too, made overtures to immigrants during Olszewski’s administration, and has continued to work with the many immigrant communities in Maryland’s third-largest county through its expanded Immigrant Affairs office.

Miscommunication

Trump’s Justice Department never informed the county it was on the list, both Turner and Baltimore County spokesperson Erica Palmisano said.

When county officials asked ICE why they were included, the federal government said the Baltimore County Department of Corrections did not respond to ICE requests.

An internal review by the county, however, found that ICE incorrectly sent immigration detainers to departments in other counties.

Federal funding threatened

Baltimore County’s inclusion as a “sanctuary jurisdiction” could jeopardize federal funding, according to an FAQ the county published online Saturday.

As a result, county officials signed the memorandum of understanding to limit the county’s exposure.

“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 the FAQ.

A dispute over one prisoner

The ICE friction with Baltimore County dates to April 2024, when Guatemalan national Raul Calderon-Interiano, who had a removal order dating to 2015, was convicted of a fourth-degree sex offense and second-degree assault for an incident with a minor. The court suspended his sentence and required he register as a sex offender.

Then he was released.

“On an unknown date, the Baltimore County Detention Center refused to honor ERO Baltimore’s immigration detainer and released Calderon-Interiano from custody,” the Trump Justice Department said in June 2024.

County officials said the department gave ICE adequate notice Calderon-Interiano would be released.

A copy of 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.

If a federal judge has signed an immigration detainer for anyone in 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 ICE detainer, then Baltimore County corrections must hold the individual for at least four hours.

That policy, which was formalized in the MOU signed last week, remains in effect today.

MOU “memorializes” 2024 agreement

On Oct. 25, County Attorney James Benjamin and County Administrative Officer D’Andrea Walker signed a MOU regarding the transfer of “criminal alien inmates.”

The memorandum states it “memorializes in writing operational procedures first developed in 2024 regarding [Baltimore County Department of Corrections] providing ICE an opportunity to accept custody of removable alien inmates.”

County officials said it does not establish any new policies or new relationships with federal agencies.

Confusion unsurprising

Under a policy signed by former County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and upheld by all his successors, Baltimore County has promised to safeguard its immigrant population and not assist federal law enforcement in detaining law-abiding county residents.

On June 6, ICE officers arrested a Honduran national, Adolfo Nimrod Hernandez-Ramos, at a Catonsville strip mall. Hernandez-Ramos resisted arrest, and ICE could not successfully detain him until Baltimore County Police officers arrived.

Joy Lepola-Stewart, spokesperson for the Baltimore County Police Department, said police reviewed the incident and determined the officers did not violate any policies.

Jyoti Mohan, a Democratic activist in Baltimore County who is running for County Council in the northernmost district, disagrees. She, and many other activists, worry that the county is not doing enough to protect its citizens.

Election year politics

Four Democrats are running for county executive. All four are courting the substantial immigrant vote. (Klausmeier, who was appointed to succeed Olszewski and has a little over a year left, said she would not run for the job.)

At Monday’s council meeting, Councilman Izzy Patoka excoriated Klausmeier’s office for not bringing the MOU to the council, though county officials said renewing an existing agreement is not the sort of thing that typically goes to council.

On his Facebook page, Councilman Pat Young wrote in a post: “I’m deeply disappointed Baltimore County signed an MOU with ICE. The actions we’ve seen from ICE and DHS in great American cities contradict the values I fought for and the trust our communities deserve.”

Patoka and Young are both running for county executive.

Nick Stewart, a former school board member also in the race, issued a “call to action” on his Facebook page:

“Contact your County Councilmember and demand 1) public emergency hearings with the County Executive, Police Department, and Corrections leadership and 2) a resolution terminating this agreement," he said.

Councilman Julian Jones, who’s also running for county executive, said he’s focused his energy on helping residents in need of food due to SNAP cuts and did not see the MOU immediately after the announcement Friday. When he did read it, he said, he concurred with the administration that nothing changed.

“I didn’t see any there there,” he said.