Let’s be clear: Baltimore County’s new agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security is a retreat. After years of local pushback against the cruelty and inefficiency of federal immigration enforcement, county corrections officials are now compelled to notify ICE when they detain anyone that may face removal from the US under federal law. It’s a textbook example of the feds twisting the arms of local governments—if you think that sounds a little like “do this or lose your lunch money,” you’re not alone.

The rationale, according to federal and local bureaucrats: increased “public safety.” The reality: people who have lived, worked, and paid taxes here for years are now at risk of getting swept into a deportation machine that has proven itself, time and again, to be anything but just. And all of this stems from a memo-of-understanding that doesn’t actually change “standard practices,” according to the county. So why sign it? Because the threat of losing federal money and being called out by Trump-administration holdovers is apparently enough to scare local leaders into sacrificing principle.

This change comes after Baltimore County was listed in August 2025 as Maryland’s lone “sanctuary jurisdiction,” a scarlet letter under federal policies that harken back to Trump and his MAGA cronies’ relentless crusade against immigrants under the ‘law-and-order’ umbrella. After a predictable amount of hand-wringing, the county promptly gave in.

Source: The Baltimore Banner

In case it wasn’t obvious, the losers here are the people who call Baltimore County home but aren’t blessed with US citizenship papers. These are your neighbors, your co-workers, your kids’ classmates. Now, the second they’re booked (not even convicted!) for something as minor as a traffic stop, they’re at risk for deportation. Civil liberties? Apparently, the county thought those were optional.

And for what gain? Federal approval, maybe a few thousand in grants, and the warm fuzzy feeling of compliance. You know who’s really celebrating? The same Department of Justice bureaucrats who love to talk “public safety” and then turn around to slash funding for health care, housing, and social services. Not to mention ICE, whose reputation for due process and basic human decency ranks roughly somewhere between “Disney villains” and “virus popups.”

The people who pushed hardest for this are the ones who see immigration as a convenient scapegoat for society’s real failures. Economic instability? Blame immigrants. Crime issues? Blame immigrants. Toe fungus? Blame immigrants. Never mind that the data overwhelmingly shows sanctuary jurisdictions are safer (Source 1) and that mixing federal enforcement with local policing increases fear and distrust, making everyone less safe.

Let’s not sugarcoat it: This crackdown is the lasting product of a Trump executive order, aimed directly at any local government refusing to play local deputy for ICE. Trump and his worshippers (yes, I said it) drove a wedge through the country by treating immigrants as existential threats, regardless of facts. He held cities hostage with the threat of yanking federal money unless they allowed ICE into every jail cell and city hall. It’s a brute-force, legally-suspect approach that courts have repeatedly called into question, but the playbook persists because, let’s be honest, fearmongering still works—especially in a country so anxious to “other” anyone who wasn’t born here in precisely the right way.

Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s claim that her county “shouldn’t have been listed” is a masterclass in mealy-mouthed politics. The real question is why the county didn’t fight harder. Instead, local leaders effectively caved, eager to show they’ll toe whatever line the federal government (especially one lurching rightward) throws down. That’s not leadership, that’s capitulation.

Meanwhile, residents get to live with the fallout—lives upended, trust shattered, and families torn apart by policies that are as cruel as they are pointless.

Source: Justice Department release

The new “memorandum of understanding” is bureaucratic gobbledygook with teeth. Local jails will now proactively notify ICE about anyone with an immigration “detainer” or federal warrant, supposedly “aligning” with “peer jurisdictions.” Translation: the county doesn’t want to look like a rebel. Is it an actual policy overhaul? County spokespersons swear it “changes nothing”—a strange defense for a document celebrated by the Justice Department as a win for enforcement.

Correctional staff are put in the awkward position of becoming quasi-ICE agents. The idea of “voluntary notification” is a joke—the pressure here is real. If anyone tells you this is just paperwork, remind them that, in the worst cases, paperwork is exactly what drives people from hospital beds to deportation flights.

Lest we forget, Maryland was named (along with several counties and cities) as one of America’s “sanctuary” havens. Most of those were scrubbed from the list months ago—now the feds want you to know that Baltimore County is completely house-trained, just like they always wanted.

If you’re still reading, you already know who’s actually fighting back. Civil rights groups, immigrant justice orgs, and a committed slice of the public refuse to roll over. Baltimore County and places like it need fewer press statements and more direct action—refusing to comply with federal overreach is how we actually protect community safety.

Let’s drop the pretense: ICE is out for the biggest possible body count, not for “safety.” The data proves it. What keeps communities safe are trust, support for vulnerable residents, and leadership with a spine. Right now, in Baltimore County, that’s in desperately short supply.

For anyone paying attention, it’s time to keep the pressure up—demand answers, vote for candidates with actual principles, and refuse to let the tired narrative of ‘immigrants = threat’ go unchallenged.

Baltimore County’s “removal” from the sanctuary list is a warning: even in 2025, we’re still fighting battles we should’ve won years ago. When local governments cave (especially under right-wing intimidation and pressure from ICE), all it does is embolden the worst actors. For the sake of every family facing the fallout, and the wider fight for justice, Baltimore County needs to do better—and so do the rest of us watching.

Still think this is all about “public safety?” Check the numbers. Or better yet, check your conscience.