Montgomery County strengthens collaboration with ICE, extends notice time for deportations
Montgomery County leaders said they will continue cooperating with federal immigration authorities by giving ICE agents more notice when they’re seeking to deport a list of convicted criminals in county custody.
"We’ve giving about 24 hours notice to ICE for the notification. They asked it be extended to 48 hours," Dr. Earl Stoddard said Wednesday.
Dr. Stoddard is the Assistant County Administrator, in charge of public safety. By giving agents more time, Stoddard said it will allow them to make a decision internally about resources.
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A meeting was held this week between Montgomery County leaders and ICE’s Baltimore Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) office to discuss improved communications and operational challenges with custody transfers.
According to Stoddard, ICE underscored their need for more notice before releases.
"We acknowledge and so did Director [Darius] Reeves that there are certain cases where a judge may release someone at a bond hearing from the courtroom, in which we won’t be able to afford ICE the same opportunity. They acknowledged that happens all the time, all over the state," Stoddard said.
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The meeting was also intended to clear up misconceptions about the county’s immigration enforcement policy, according to Montgomery County Marc Elrich.
In 2019, Elrich signed an executive order known as the "Promoting Community Trust Executive Order." The order prohibits all executive branch departments from using local government resources to assist federal agents in civil immigration investigations.
This does not mean the county is a "sanctuary" designation, Elrich stressed Wednesday.
"As we showed Director Reeves, we have like two pages of crimes for which we enforce detainers. It’s anything violent, anything related to sex offenses, child abuse, use of a gun, or any other weapon. It’s a pretty good list of things we will deport for and will cooperate," Elrich said. "The county also has an arrangement at the jail for anybody we consider to be vaguely dangerous or who might have dangerous friends. We arrange for the transfer inside the building facility. So, we’re already doing things."
Elrich said he expects more meetings in the coming weeks.