Governor Wes Moore is criticizing a two-week federal immigration enforcement operation in Maryland and Virginia that resulted in 1,328 arrests, arguing that the operation swept up many people without criminal charges or convictions and was carried out without notifying state officials.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted “Operation Safe Community – Washington, D.C.” from August 1 through August 14. DHS said that of the 1,328 people arrested, nearly 400 had either been convicted of or charged with crimes in the United States. Federal officials said ICE officers made the arrests despite what DHS described as “sanctuary policies” in a number of counties across Maryland and Virginia.
Moore said Tuesday that he supports federal efforts to remove violent offenders but criticized the broader scope and methods of the operation.
“Public safety is my top priority, and Marylanders know I have neither patience nor tolerance for violent criminals,” Moore said. “When federal law enforcement takes violent offenders off our streets and lawfully removes them from our country, that makes our communities safer.”
Moore pointed to the same arrest figures in criticizing the operation, noting that fewer than one-third of the 1,328 people arrested had been charged with or convicted of crimes in the United States. He also cited reports of workers being chased through residential neighborhoods, parents being separated from their children and an individual reportedly suffering a broken neck during an ICE arrest.
Moore also argued that increased immigration enforcement is affecting Maryland businesses by discouraging some workers from reporting to jobs in industries including agriculture and nursing homes.
“Deploying untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable agents to sweep through our communities and spread fear is not a public safety strategy,” Moore said. “It undermines trust between law enforcement and the people they serve, and it does not make us safer.”
DHS, meanwhile, characterized the operation as an effort targeting people who are in the country illegally and emphasized the criminal charges and convictions of nearly 400 of those arrested.
“We do not have to choose between holding violent offenders accountable and protecting the constitutional rights and basic dignity of our neighbors,” Moore said. “In Maryland, we will continue to do both.”
