House Judiciary Committee Advances Emergency Bill Banning 287(g) ICE Agreements

The Maryland House Judiciary Committee voted 12–7 to advance HB444, a bill that would prohibit 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Committee members amended HB444 to make it emergency legislation, meaning it would take effect immediately upon the governor’s signature if the legislature completes its work.

The bill’s push through committee came alongside parallel action in the state Senate, where the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee voted 8–3 to advance SB245, the Senate companion sponsored by Sen. William C. Smith Jr. Both measures were advanced with emergency-designation language in committee, signaling lawmakers’ desire for quick action in Annapolis. Lawmakers plan floor action in the coming days, although the House at one point laid over debate and the governor had not publicly signaled whether he would sign emergency legislation.

HB444 is sponsored in the House by Del. Nicole Williams, D-22. Williams framed the bill as a remedy to eroded public trust and strained local budgets. “Now is the time to ban 287(g) agreements,” Williams said, and she added that “These agreements drain taxpayer dollars from the real work of local law enforcement. In a tough budget year for our state and local jurisdictions, these funds can be better used to enhance public safety rather than participating in one-way agreements with ICE, which have shown to openly ignore the Constitutional rights of American citizens.” House Majority Leader David Moon emphasized the public-safety rationale: “This bill is about public safety. It’s unfortunate that one year later, we do have to pull the plug on state and county participation with ICE. They have lost the public trust.”

Opponents, including six Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee and Del. Frank M. Conaway Jr., D-Baltimore City, argued the program does not divert officers from frontline policing. “No county that’s implemented this program has taken officers off of the street to do this at all, ever. Not how it works,” said Del. Lauren Arikan, R-Harford. Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano testified against the Senate bill and then announced her county signed a 287(g) agreement, bringing the up-to-date total to nine Maryland counties with some form of 287(g) arrangement.

The legislation responds to two common 287(g) models used in Maryland: county jails checking immigration status and holding an individual for an additional two days for ICE pickup, and a deputization model in which ICE authorizes local officers to assist with immigration enforcement. Senators pushed the bill in part as a statement about federal immigration enforcement practices. “We need to just get out of this business right now,” Sen. William C. Smith Jr. said. Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher added that the committee “made a statement today that the actions of the federal government are unacceptable to our Maryland values, and we as a legislature have a duty to respond. The committee had a legitimate debate, both on the underlying policies and the constitutionality of those policies, and we sent it to the floor of the Senate to continue that conversation.”

For Baltimore residents, the bill could reshape interactions between local law enforcement and federal immigration officers, affecting trust between immigrant communities and police, county jail procedures, and local budgets. The next steps include House and Senate floor votes, reconciliation if the chambers’ texts differ, and whether the governor will sign emergency legislation. Watch the Annapolis calendar and local sheriff announcements for how quickly agreements are dissolved or new practices are adopted.