BALTIMORE — Just one month before Donald Trump is set to retake the White House, Maryland leaders are taking a cautious approach to his signature call to deport people in the country illegally.
In Baltimore, Mayor Brandon Scott — the city’s first mayor to be re-elected in two decades — has touted his role in reducing violent crime rates across all categories. While such a priority would seemingly align the mayor with the newly elected “tough on crime” president, Scott has raised concerns about federal agents interfering with Baltimore police in a widespread deportation operation led by Trump.
“We hope that this government, which says it wants to come down and ensure that violence in the cities decreases, will not upset the apple cart if violence in the city drops to levels that have never been reached before. ,” Scott told The Baltimore Sun in late November.
Scott’s office did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment on how the mayor believes a federal immigration presence in Baltimore would increase or maintain the city’s current crime rates.
The Scott administration’s course appears to be a middle ground between those of larger regional cities like New York and Philadelphia, where officials’ rhetoric regarding possible deportations has varied widely.
In the Big Apple, Democratic Mayor Eric Adams — who is facing allegations of corruption and bribery — has signaled his willingness to work with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan to roll back laws that restrict US cooperation. city with federal immigration authorities.
“My legal team will sit down at the table [Homan’s] legal team to determine whether an executive order could change that,” Adams said during a Fox News appearance on Wednesday.
In Philadelphia, leaders like Councilmember Rue Landau have emphasized their city’s status as a place of refuge. Philly became a haven in 2016 and is home to about 47,000 illegal immigrants, according to migration statistics.
“Sanctuary is a word that carries more weight now than ever before,” Landau said at a Dec. 10 rally in which he called on Mayor Cherelle Parker to take a stronger stand against Trump’s proposed immigration policies.
How will Governor Wes Moore handle Trump’s deportation plans?
In an emailed statement, Democrat Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, called on federal leaders to “put politics aside” while vowing to “wait and see” what Trump does before taking action to help residents of to ‘protect’ Maryland.
Moore’s statement did not explicitly distinguish between legal and illegal immigration, instead referring broadly to “immigrant communities.”
“There is currently a lot of speculation about how the new federal government wants to approach immigration policy. As governor, I have a duty to protect Maryland residents, including members of our immigrant communities,” Moore said. “We have provided clear guidance on the four values that guide our work during this transition from one administration to the next: we will deliver results for Maryland residents, we will defend our constitutional rights, we will grow our economy, and we will restore confidence in our audience. servants, our institutions and our democracy. And as the policy evolves, we will weigh our actions against these values.”
In 2021, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation, largely along party lines, to ban counties from entering into agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain immigrants on its behalf. The same year, another law was enacted requiring government employees to refuse inspection of files containing photographs or personal information for immigration enforcement purposes unless the applicant has a valid warrant.
Former Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, vetoed both bills. His vetoes were overridden – again along party lines – during a special legislative session in December 2021.
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