St. Mary's County officials discuss HB 1188, ICE cooperation and correctional-facility listing

County counselor and the St. Mary's County sheriff addressed HB 1188 and local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a commissioners meeting, and officials said the county is working to get its correctional facility removed from an ICE website listing that labeled it noncooperating.

The discussion centered on how current Maryland law restricts local law enforcement from making immigration-status inquiries or holding people for federal immigration authorities unless the information is relevant to a state criminal investigation. "It is prohibited unless it is relevant for a state for the investigation of a state crime to make inquiries about a person's immigration status," the county counselor said, and noted that Maryland law also limits holding someone to accommodate an ICE detainer request.

Why it matters: The exchange bears on how local jails handle detainees who may have federal immigration issues, whether the county appears on federal public lists of noncooperating facilities and potential liability for the county if it holds people beyond what state law permits.

The counselor described the statutory background and said HB 1188 was being discussed in Annapolis; the bill was mentioned as having a cosponsor in Delegate T. Morgan and some bipartisan interest, though the counselor did not finish a full description of the bill in the provided transcript. The counselor also explained how ICE often requests a 48-hour window for local facilities to hold someone for transfer and said state law does not allow that 48-hour hold.

A commissioner raised constituent concerns after learning the St. Mary's County Correctional Facility appeared on an ICE website list as a "non cooperating facility." The commissioner said constituents had asked him, "Are we a Sanctuary County? And I say, no. We have never voted to be a Sanctuary County." He asked the sheriff to explain the county's practices.

The sheriff said the local jail's policy "mirrors state law because I am sworn to uphold state law." He said the county would cooperate with ICE when a person presented a danger to the community. "If ICE were to call today and say they have a dangerous person that they want to get out of this county, I'll be pointing the door," the sheriff said.

The sheriff also addressed operational changes over the past decade, saying the county previously housed ICE detainees and was reimbursed but no longer does so. "We do not have the luxury of those cells," he said, adding that the detention center currently lacks capacity for additional detainees.

On removing the county from the ICE listing, the sheriff said the county is "working with him" (referring to an ICE official who raised concern about the listing) and that the removal process is in progress. He said about 20 other agencies in the state were similarly surprised to find themselves on the list and that he was coordinating to correct the record.

A commissioner also mentioned a separate bill in Annapolis that would fund medically assisted treatment in corrections and said the county warden was testifying on that proposal. The sheriff noted the county regularly contends with state-level mandates that can be unfunded and said state funding for such programs would be welcome.

No formal vote or directive was recorded in the provided transcript excerpt. The discussion included clarification of existing law, an outline of the county's operating practice, and a staff- and sheriff-level effort to have the county removed from the ICE website listing.

Closing details: Officials said they would continue to coordinate with ICE and state contacts to resolve the listing and monitor legislation in Annapolis that could affect correctional health services and detention operations.