President Donald Trump used the first twenty-four hours of his second presidential term to pass a slew of executive memorandums relating to immigration — just after he used his inauguration speech to promise immediate mass deportations.
Despite widespread reports that there would be arrests on “Day One” in places like Chicago, those large enforcement efforts seem to have failed to materialize although immigration advocates still say the threat is “very real.”
The Department of Homeland Security repealed a Biden-era policy that restricted immigration agents’ ability to make arrests at so-called “sensitive” sites like schools, places of worship, hospitals and other places that administered social services, like a disaster relief site. Under another executive order, local law enforcement would be allowed to oversee the “investigation, apprehension, or detention of aliens in the United States under the direction and the supervision of the Secretary of Homeland Security.”
“We knew that this was coming,” said Mayor Brandon Scott about Trump’s recent actions during one of his regular Wednesday press conferences. “Folks should have taken the President for his word when he said he was going to do the things that he's doing.”
When asked specifically if the city would take proactive or counteractive measures to immigration enforcement actions at those sensitive sites, like schools, Mayor Scott stressed, “We will look at every legal option that we have to protect our residents. Period.”
Any such actions would be done under the care of the City Solicitor Ebony Thompson, he said.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the Baltimore Police Department and their involvement in immigration efforts, Scott held to previous sentiments. He stressed that BPD works with federal partners every day but is most focused on bringing down crime– not asking residents about their immigration status.
“BPD will not be focused on enforcing a federal immigration law,” said Scott. “Now, if you're going to break the law, as I've said before, I don't care where you're from, we have and will continue to work with ice and our federal agencies on folks who are breaking the law and helping to remove them from the streets of Baltimore.”
White House border czar Tom Homan said to CNN’s Dana Bash on Tuesday that sanctuary cities would see more “collateral arrests” under Trump’s deportation plans. Baltimore City, while not technically a sanctuary city, has a recent history of leadership that has been welcoming and open towards immigrants and refugees.
Scott said he has not had further communication from the federal administration about the city’s enforcement of immigration policies. The mayor described the city taking more of a “wait and see” approach when it comes to if “the administration actually does what they say.”
“We know the most predictable thing about the president and that he can be unpredictable,” said Scott.
How are Maryland advocacy groups and cities preparing?
In the most recent Gonzalez poll, released earlier this month, 76% of Marylanders said they supported local law enforcement working with federal immigration agencies in their efforts to arrest and deport undocumented people who have committed crimes.
There’s no word yet on how, when, or if immigration raids would come to Maryland or Baltimore like they did in 2019, during the first Trump administration, but nonetheless local groups are preparing.
“We are launching a 24/7 raid tip hotline to ensure a system for those impacted by ICE encounters,” said Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA, during a call with reporters last week. The leader of the Maryland-based immigrant rights advocacy group said the group has recently had thousands of people attend “know your rights” and family preparedness workshops.
“We will not stand by while families are separated and lives are disrupted. We will leverage every available judicial, administrative, organizing and legislative tool to defend and protect our communities at the local, state and national level,” said Torres, noting that CASA alongside other migrant rights’ groups is prepared to sue the administration over laws that may be unconstitutional.
Similarly, MIMA, or the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs — an office created by Mayor Brandon Scott — has compiled a resource guide for undocumented city residents and their loved ones. That has been shared out by city officials like Councilmember Odette Ramos.
