Overview
- The Oct. 25 memorandum requires Baltimore County corrections to alert ICE before releasing inmates subject to detainers or judicial warrants, which officials say reflects practices in place since 2024 and is not a 287(g) deputization.
- Following the MOU, the Justice Department updated its list and dropped Baltimore County, with Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward praising the county’s cooperation despite state limits.
- Roughly 100 residents rallied in Towson, and Councilman Izzy Patoka said he will introduce a Nov. 17 bill to set guardrails on county cooperation with ICE.
- County officials say they signed to avoid jeopardizing federal funds and maintain that no policies changed, while critics question the need to formalize the arrangement.
- County leaders contend DOJ never notified them about the sanctuary label and that ICE had misdirected detainers, as Maryland’s attorney general guidance and evolving county actions elsewhere shape the broader landscape.