Maryland sheriffs gain national attention amid push against 287(g) ban

Brendan Nordstrom, The Baltimore Sun on Mar 17, 2026

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Maryland law enforcement leaders gained some national attention in their fight against a law banning formal agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week.

Lt. Col. Allen West, the executive director of the national conservative legal nonprofit American Constitutional Rights Union, met with officials in Harford and Carroll counties Monday to discuss his concerns about the constitutionality of the bans.

The visit coincided with recent progress toward legal action against the state law banning 287(g) agreements, which previously allowed local jails to transfer undocumented immigrants directly to ICE. Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler, a Republican who is running for reelection, said that there are “positive indications” of legal action, and the sheriffs will be discussing options at a meeting this week.

“How can they make a law that says that a law enforcement officer cannot enforce a law?” West asked during his meeting with Gahler and Patty Morin, the mother of Bel Air murder victim Rachel Morin, along with other local leaders, at the Harford County Detention Center.

“We will make sure that justice is served, and there will be no more Rachel Morins in the United States of America,” he said.

Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered on the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air in 2023, spoke in favor of 287(g) agreements. Morin said her daughter’s killer, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, of El Salvador, entered the country illegally before he killed Rachel.

Democratic leaders have defended the ban. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks called ICE “a murderous organization” and said Maryland is protecting residents from “brutal and unconstitutional policies.” Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the agency is not focused on “the worst of the worst” and that Maryland is within its rights to refuse cooperation.

West later met with Carroll County Sheriff James T. “Jim” DeWees, Carroll State’s Attorney Haven Shoemaker and Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins. DeWees and Jenkins are also Republicans running for reelection.

Harford, Carroll and Frederick counties are three of nine jurisdictions in the state that had 287(g) programs prior to the state law prohibiting them, which was signed by Gov. Wes Moore on Feb. 17. The other counties are Allegany, Cecil, Garrett, St. Mary’s, Washington and Wicomico.

Carroll State’s Attorney Special Counsel Allan Culver said West reached out and wanted to meet with the local officials to discuss their fight.

“He is so passionate about constitutional rights and making sure that constitutional rights are upheld,” Culver said. “It just goes to show you that it’s apparent across the country that what has been done … is unconstitutional. It’s just blatant.”

West formerly served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Florida and was the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas.

When asked about the constitutionality of the ban on 287(g) agreements, West pointed to the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which gives federal laws authority over conflicting state laws.

“When you have a state like Maryland that is saying, ‘We are not going to support federal immigration law,’ that’s unlawful,” West said.

A cohort of Maryland sheriffs have met with federal partners recently to discuss any legal path forward to continue their relationships with ICE, Gahler said. Wicomico Sheriff Mike Lewis, who is running for reelection, recently said the sheriffs are “very much interested” in pursuing a lawsuit, but there is “no clear path” right now.

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