MD conservatives tout poll that says majority wants local police to work with immigration

Marylanders overwhelmingly support the idea of local police working with federal immigration officials, according to a new poll that was seized on by conservative lawmakers who plan to push for such a change in state law.

The Republican lawmakers took the first step in that direction Tuesday, calling on Gov. Wes Moore to issue an executive order requiring corrections officials around the state to notify federal authorities when they expect to release a person subject to a detainer. They say that would improve public safety by cracking down on unauthorized immigrants who are also violent criminals.

“Per state law, they’re not allowed to hold a person for an administrative detainer,” Del. Matthew Morgan (R-St. Mary’s) said of local officials. An executive order to get around that law is “a very reasonable solution,” he said.

“The other solution is to ignore the ICE detainer and let the person go out in the street, which is where they’re going to do other crimes,” Morgan said. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Carter Elliott, a Moore spokesperson, did not comment directly on the letter from Republicans, but said in a statement that public safety remains a top administration priority.

“The governor is committed to upholding the law all while ensuring due process and protecting the rights of all individuals,” Elliott said. “The administration will continue to work in partnership with federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to address criminal behavior effectively and responsibly, while respecting legal and procedural guidelines.”

Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince George’s) said he was not surprised by the letter to Moore or the results of the Republican poll, since ” all Marylanders want safe communities.”

“I think the wording of that question, most people across this country, not just in Maryland, would support,” said Martinez, who is chair of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus but said he was only speaking for himself as an individual lawmaker. “I think where we differ is in approach.”

Martinez said budgets at the local level “are so strapped” that local police should be “focused on reduction of crime and prevention of crime in all of our communities.”

“We have federal law enforcement who is in charge of enforcing our immigration laws, and they should be able to do so,” he said

The letter to Moore was signed by Morgan and fellow House Republicans who sometimes refer to themselves as the Freedom Caucus: Dels. Mark N. Fisher (Calvert); Robin Grammer, Kathy Szeliga, and Ryan Nawrocki (Baltimore County); Lauren Arikan (Harford); and Brian Chisholm and Nicholaus R. Kipke (Anne Arundel).

On Tuesday, the group released the letter to Moore along with the polling that shows most Marylanders hold similar views. It showed that more than 84% of those polled said they “support or oppose local law enforcement in Maryland being required to turn over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) any illegal immigrant who has been previously convicted of a violent crime, convicted gang member, or convicted of a sexual offense?”

Nearly seven in 10 voters strongly agreed with that question, with overwhelming support crossing all ages, gender, racial and political demographics, and regions in the state, the poll said.

The question was commissioned by the Republicans as part of a poll last month by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research & Media, and paid for through the group’s Marylanders United campaign slate. The survey of 820 registered voters across the state was conducted between Aug. 24-30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 points.

But Cathryn Paul, public policy director for the immigrant advocacy group CASA, said polls like that “can oversimplify complex issues.”

“The focus on extreme cases can ignore the broader reality of how these policies impact everyday lives. It doesn’t capture the effects on families, neighborhoods, and public safety as a whole,” she said.

She said lawmakers should “explore solutions that protect both public safety and the dignity and humanity of all people,” but accused the GOP lawmakers instead of having “a long history of promoting false narratives that link immigrants to crime and perpetuating harmful stereotypes that fuel fear and division.”

Morgan said he expects Republican-backed legislation in the next legislature to repeal the 2021 law that restricts local law enforcement and detention centers from working with federal immigration officials. That law prevents local officials from entering into agreements with federal officials to hold unauthorized immigrants — and be paid by the feds to do so — and it prohibits police from inquiring about an individual’s immigration status.

The 2021 bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R), but overriden by the General Assembly later that year.

Szeliga has sponsored legislation requiring the transfer of unauthorized immigrants to federal authorities when they are subject to a federal detainer. Her 2024 version of the bill was filed late and languished in the House Rules Committee without a vote.

Morgan said he expects a second GOP bill next year to accomplish what they are asking Moore to do by executive order. Until then, he said, an executive order is needed.

Immigration and border security continue to be hot button issues driving the 2024 election nationally.

Locally, Morgan said he and his Republican colleagues commissioned the poll following the 2023 death of Rachel Morin. The 37-year-old mother of five, who was raped and murdered last year along the Ma & Pa trail near her Bel Air home, drew national attention and “galvanized” public outrage, Morgan said.

Rachel Morin’s mother reveals her own tale of assault during emotional hearing

Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, 23, was arrested in June in Oklahoma nearly a year later. Authorities said Hernandez was already wanted for a January 2023 murder in his native El Salvador when he fled to the United States. He was implicated in an assault on a 9-year-old girl and her mother during a home invasion in their Los Angeles home before later making his way to Maryland, where is accused in the attack on Morin.

Because Hernandez was not arrested in Maryland, the changes the Republicans are seeking likely would not have applied to his case. But Morgan said the changes need to be made for other cases, and that most Marylanders agree.

“So often that we’re told that Republican positions are on the fringe or are radical,” Morgan said. “It looks like this is a pretty reasonable position that the overwhelming majority of Marylanders agree with.”

Paul said the deaths of Morin and Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old who was raped and murdered in 2022 in her Aberdeen home by an immigrant from El Salvador, were not the result of the 2021 law.

“Our hearts go out to the families of Rachel Morin and Kayla Hamilton,” said Paul. “It is important to recognize, however, that neither of these deaths occurred because of Maryland’s decision not to participate in the federal government’s broken deportation machine.”

She said policies that encourage local police to partner with ICE can create a climate of mistrust and fear among immigrants that “any interaction with police (even for something as minor as a traffic violation) could lead to deportation.”

“People become less likely to report crimes, cooperate with investigations, or seek help when they need it most,” she said. “This loss of trust doesn’t just harm our immigrant community but the safety of everyone when crimes go unreported, and communities are more vulnerable.”

A Brennan Center analysis released in May said research does not support claims that immigrants commit more crimes or are incarcerated at at higher rates than citizens, and that the record number of immigrants coming to the U.S. in the last two years had not corresponded with increases in crime.

Martinez said he had not seen the Brennan Center numbers, but “I wouldn’t be surprised, because the folks that I know who are here are here for opportunity … They’re not here to cause chaos and division.”

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.