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When Governor Wes Moore signed emergency legislation on February 17, 2026, banning Maryland jurisdictions from deputizing officers for federal civil immigration enforcement, Annapolis made clear which side it stands on: politics over public safety, at least according to many on the ground. The law was sold as a way to protect community trust and stop unaccountable federal overreach, but its immediate effect is to tie the hands of sheriffs who face real crime and real danger every day.
That move touched off a principled revolt from the people who actually wear the badge. Several Maryland sheriffs — from Carroll to Harford to Wicomico and beyond — vowed they will continue communicating and cooperating with federal immigration authorities, calling the ban a betrayal of their oath to protect residents and an affront to common sense policing. These are not career politicians mouthing talking points; they are local leaders who answered to their communities long before Annapolis passed its new line of law.
Sheriffs on the Eastern Shore have staged protests in Annapolis and told lawmakers plainly that removing practical tools like 287(g) will not make communities safer — it will invite more federal boots-on-the-ground and push enforcement into the streets. County leaders say the state gave them no alternative strategy, no plan to handle the consequences of surrendering a tool that helps identify and remove dangerous criminal aliens. Voters should ask why elected officials would strip trusted lawmen of resources while lecturing about safety.
Meanwhile, Governor Moore and his allies framed the ban as defending constitutional policing and shielding immigrants from abusive federal tactics, but critics argue it will weaken public safety and reward those who flout the law. This is the familiar liberal playbook: prioritize ideology and optics while ignoring the everyday realities sheriffs face in county jails and on neighborhood streets. Marylanders who pay taxes and worry about safety deserve better than political theater disguised as policy.
The turmoil comes as the state is also embroiled in a fight over federal detention expansion after Maryland officials sued to block a planned large ICE detention facility conversion in Washington County, highlighting the chaotic tug-of-war between state leaders and federal enforcement priorities. That legal skirmish shows how mixed messages from state government are creating uncertainty and conflict rather than clear, enforceable solutions to rising immigration enforcement challenges. The result is a bureaucratic mess that leaves sheriffs to pick up the pieces.
Hardworking Americans should stand with the sheriffs who are putting principle and safety above partisan signaling, and demand that elected officials stop making headlines at the expense of law and order. If Annapolis insists on political purity tests, local leaders must be free to defend their communities and, if necessary, litigate to preserve the tools that keep citizens safe. The real test for voters will come at the ballot box, where those who prioritize safety and common sense will hold reckless lawmakers accountable.
