Posted on 07/21/25
| News Source: Maryland Matters
Baltimore, MD - July 21, 2025 - Every person getting booked in jail in Frederick County is asked two questions: “Where were you born?” and “What country are you a citizen of?”
If the answer to either question is anything other than the U.S., said Sheriff Chuck Jenkins (R), officers will take the individual to the facility’s “ICE unit” where they determine the person’s legal status. If residing in the country illegally, officers will then place a detainer on them to initiate removal proceedings — if determined appropriate by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Rather than release a criminal back onto the street, we turn those criminals over to ICE,” Jenkins said.
Frederick is one of several Maryland counties where the sheriff’s office has opted to participate in the “287(g)” program, which allows ICE to delegate certain immigration enforcement abilities to state and local law enforcement officials. The powers include executing administrative immigration warrants in their jails, identifying and beginning removal proceedings against individuals arrested by local law enforcement, and serving on task forces that allow officers to “enforce limited immigration authority.”
While 287(g) agreements were first established in 1996, they have gained increased public awareness and scrutiny after President Donald Trump returned to office in January and directed a significant increase in immigration enforcement across the country. So far during his presidency, immigration arrests in Maryland have doubled.
Since the beginning of this year, five more Maryland sheriff’s offices — in Allegany, Carroll, Garrett, St. Mary’s and Washington counties — have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE. Cecil, Frederick and Harford counties already had agreements in place.
While the kinds of agreement can differ, all the participating sheriff’s offices in Maryland only utilize the 287(g) program in their county jails.