Governor Moore Statement on Mass Deportation Operations in Maryland

Governor Moore released the following statement after DHS officials announced mass deportation operations in Maryland without notifying state officials:

“Public safety is my top priority, and Marylanders know I have neither patience nor tolerance for violent criminals. When federal law enforcement takes violent offenders off our streets and lawfully removes them from our country, that makes our communities safer. Maryland will continue working with our federal partners to do exactly that.

“But ICE’s own numbers tell a very different story. According to them, a mere fraction of the more than 1,300 people they arrested in the past two weeks had ever been convicted of or charged with any crimes. We’ve seen frightening footage of older women being taken from their apartment buildings, workers chased in residential neighborhoods, parents separated from American children - and we are deeply concerned by reports that an individual suffered a broken neck during an ICE arrest. 

“These actions also undermine our economy.  I’ve heard firsthand from business leaders across the State that these immigration policies are taking legal workers out of our nursing homes, scaring farmworkers from showing up to work, and making the cost of everything from groceries to delivery services higher.

“Deploying untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable agents to sweep through our communities and spread fear is not a public safety strategy. It undermines trust between law enforcement and the people they serve, and it does not make us safer.

“We do not have to choose between holding violent offenders accountable and protecting the constitutional rights and basic dignity of our neighbors. In Maryland, we will continue to do both.”
 

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