Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has agreed to detain illegal aliens in state custody for pickup and eventual deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). His predecessor, Martin O’Malley (D), last year established a policy of refusing ICE detainer requests, which resulted in the release of criminal aliens from the state-run Baltimore City Detention Center onto the streets.
A spokesman for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Corrections said the state will notify ICE when a criminal alien who matches DHS criteria is about to be released. The state will also detain the alien for up to an additional 48 hours beyond the scheduled release date if ICE provides a judicial warrant.
Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer said the governor made the change to comply with requests from the Obama administration. “We are not making immigration an issue here,” Mayer said. “This is not an immigration issue. It’s a public safety issue.”
Illegal-alien advocates have subsequently attacked Hogan’s policy change and begun to hold protests outside the governor’s mansion. They claim it will result in the deportation on non-criminals despite the explicit criteria DHS established under the Priority Enforcement Program.
While O’Malley was governor, illegal-alien advocates persuaded him drop state participation in the more effective Secure Communities program. Since becoming a presidential candidate, he has been touting his pro-illegal alien policies, which include giving illegal aliens access to driver’s licenses and taxpayer-subsidized in-state tuition.
Read more in the Washington Post.
