BALTIMORE — A group of House Republicans are rallying for policy change via executive order after a poll found that the majority of Marylanders support law enforcement coordinating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to turn in people unlawfully in the U.S. who have been convicted of a violent crime.

“Marylanders clearly want change in Maryland’s ICE policies,” Del. Matt Morgan, a St. Mary’s County Republican, said in a statement Tuesday. “The support for a change in this policy is much stronger, wider, and higher than even the notable support for Governor Wes Moore.”

Maryland’s House Freedom Caucus — composed of Morgan and his fellow Republican Dels. Ryan Nawrocki, Kathy Szeliga and Robin Grammer of Baltimore County, Mark Fisher of Calvert County, Nic Kipke and Brian Chisholm of Anne Arundel County, and Lauren Arikan of Harford County — are calling on Moore, a Democrat, to issue an executive order mandating that local law enforcement honor active ICE detainers before releasing people who are unlawfully in the U.S. from detention.

A September poll conducted by Gonzales Research & Media Services Inc. of 820 registered voters likely to cast their ballots during the 2024 general election showed that 84.3% of Marylanders, with a 3.5 percentage point margin of error, would prefer if local law enforcement officers were required to turn people not legally living in the U.S. who have been convicted of gang activity or a violent crime, including sexual offenses, over to ICE.

A little less than 10% opposed that policy.

Over 82% of white voters and 90% of Black voters indicated they want this increased coordination between local police and the federal government, and support was high among both political parties. More than 80% of Democrats and 95% of Republicans responded in favor of the question.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, there are an estimated 225,000 people who entered the country unlawfully living in Maryland.

Moore spokesman Carter Elliott IV said the governor “remains steadfast in his commitment to upholding the rule of law in Maryland.”

“Ensuring public safety has been and continues to be the Moore-Miller Administration’s highest priority. The governor is committed to upholding the law all while ensuring due process and protecting the rights of all individuals,” Elliott said in a statement Tuesday. “The administration will continue to work in partnership with federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to address criminal behavior effectively and responsibly, while respecting legal and procedural guidelines.”

In 2021, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation largely along party lines to prohibit counties from entering into agreements with ICE to detain immigrants on its behalf. Another law was enacted the same year requiring state employees to deny the inspection of files containing photos or personal information for immigration enforcement purposes unless the requester has a valid warrant.

Former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, vetoed both bills. His vetoes were overridden — again, along party lines — during a special legislative session in December 2021.

A Tuesday news release from the Freedom Caucus called the former an “anti-ICE, pro-open borders bill.”

Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair Jeff Waldstreicher, a Montgomery County Democrat, told The Baltimore Sun in a text message Tuesday that the caucus is “just plain wrong.”

“The poll reflects strong support for current law: cooperation with ICE against dangerous criminals but opposition to mass deportation of our immigrant neighbors,” he said.

Chisholm, the Anne Arundel County Republican, is working with a group of delegates to pre-file legislation to increase “the cooperation between Maryland jails and ICE to remove any individual who is here illegally and incarcerated for the worst crimes such as rape, murder, and human trafficking,” the Freedom Caucus’ news release said.

Republican bills on controversial issues like reproductive rights and immigration do not often pass in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

Cathryn Paul, the public policy director for the immigrants’ rights organization CASA, said that policies that encourage local law enforcement to act on behalf of ICE “can have unintended consequences” by establishing climates of mistrust with the police, and that questions like those included in the poll “can oversimplify complex issues.”

“The focus on extreme cases can ignore the broader reality of how these policies impact everyday lives. It doesn’t capture the effects on families, neighborhoods, and public safety as a whole,” Paul said. “What we need is a more compassionate, thoughtful conversation about how to keep all of our communities safe. We should explore solutions that protect both public safety and the dignity and humanity of all people.”

Maryland voters have a renewed interest in immigration policy following the death of Rachel Morin, who was killed on a Harford County walking trail in August 2023. The man accused of killing her, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, unlawfully entered the country four times. He is alleged to have killed another woman in El Salvador.

For Morin’s death, Martinez-Hernandez has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree rape and first- and second-degree assault.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said at a news conference in June that “American citizens are not safe because of failed immigration policy.”

“ICE detainers are only issued for dangerous criminals, and the public deserves to be safe in their homes and communities,” Arikan, the Harford County Republican, said.

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