ROCKVILLE, Md. — A highly anticipated private meeting between federal immigration enforcement authorities and Montgomery County leaders is set to happen this week.
The confirmation comes as the local director of ICE enforcement in the Maryland region complains too many Maryland counties are not honoring immigration detainers and dangerous criminals are going free. Montgomery County leaders say ICE is mistaken, and they've invited ICE to talk.
“I want to prioritize public safety over politics," said said Darius Reeves, the ICE Enforcement and Removal Office field director based in Baltimore.
Reeves complains jurisdictions like Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties frequently refuse to honor ICE detainers issued so that immigration authorities can deport undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes.
Reeves said in 2023, ICE agents picked up 152 convicted sex offenders for immigration violations in Maryland. He complained that 46% of them had been released by authorities in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties despite federal immigration detainers which demand 48 hours prior notice before releasing a targeted individual. Reeves accused the counties of recycling offenders back into the community.
Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Earl Stoddard, who oversees public safety in Montgomery County, said Reeves is mistaken.
"We are not a sanctuary county," Stoddard said. "We do share information with ICE so that they can see who's in our jail system. That way they can notify us of detainers on individuals. We've got a list of violent serious crimes for which we do make notification to ICE. It sounds to me that they'd like 48 hours of notice, and we typically give them about a day's notice. And so that seems like an area where we can come to an accord around."
Stoddard said hearing these concerns made the county want to meet with ICE leaders to come to an agreemtn.
“We wanted to see where there was common ground and opportunity to improve our relationship," Stoddard said.
Montgomery County's police department calls for honoring federal immigration detainers for a long list of crimes including carjackings, armed robberies, arsons, child abuse and gang related offenses, according to Stoddard. He said an individual convicted of DUI was handed over to immigration authorities on Feb. 19.
ICE has already announced a detainer on Cesar Flavio Lanuza from Nicaragua -- he's the man accused of going on a rampage in Maryland on Feb. 16 with a stolen highway department tow truck. Lanuza is still in the hospital, and has not been to court yet.
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