The White House said Tuesday that "sanctuary" policies endanger the lives of Americans in communities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
The Trump administration pointed to an incident in Prince George's County, Maryland, in which an illegal immigrant was arrested and charged with murder and assault before being released, despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement request that he be detained.
According to administration officials, ICE eventually apprehended the illegal immigrant, who is set to return to Guatemala.
"The negligence of leftist politicians is putting lives at risk," the White House said in a release.
In 2019, then-Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks joined with the county police department to announce a sweeping policy change in how her jurisdiction would respond to ICE detainer requests.
"We are not participating in immigration enforcement," Alsobrooks said at the time. "That is the job of the federal government, but we wanted to give advice and counsel to the police department and the department of corrections on occasions where we would notify ICE."
Alsobrooks, a Democrat, now represents Maryland in the U.S. Senate.
Shortly after President Donald Trump began his second term, acting Prince George's County Executive Tara Jackson told The Baltimore Banner that the policy remained essentially unchanged since Alsobrooks' tenure.
"The Prince George's County Police Department does not engage in federal immigration enforcement actions, such as deportation operations or raids, as this is the responsibility of federal agencies," Jackson said. "Our focus is on ensuring public safety and building trust with all members of our community, regardless of their immigration status."
Prince George's County's apparent commitment to sanctuary policies seems to extend to its representation at the state level.
State Del. Nicole Williams, a Democrat who represents Prince George's County, introduced a bill in the state House earlier this year to ban ICE's 287(g) program in Maryland, which allows corrections officers to identify and hold noncitizens for up to two days at ICE's request.
"The 287(g) program is a mechanism through which certain communities are terrorized and creates a fear cooperation with law enforcement," Williams said.
And Maryland State Sen. Alonzo Washington, a Prince George's County Democrat, said local law enforcement should not be tasked with enforcing federal immigration law.
"We're going to build a better relationship with our immigrant community so we know exactly who they are and we can protect them," Washington said.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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