We are a nation of immigrants. From Plymouth Rock and Jamestown in the 1600’s to the well-traveled path from the Liverpool docks to Ellis Island in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, every American—except for Native Americans—can trace ancestry to some other country. Immigrants arrived at our shores fleeing religious persecution, escaping political turmoil, and/or seeking economic opportunity. From the Treaty of Paris which ended the American Revolution, we have welcomed more than 86 million people to the United States. Unfortunately, the founding document of the Revolution, which declared that “all men created equal” and that they had a natural right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” has been sorely tested by our country’s immigration and naturalization policies. Now, as a new president takes office with one political party controlling all three branches of the Federal government, it will fall to the states, like Maryland, to ensure that the promise of our founding document will be fulfilled.
The UU Legislative Ministry of Maryland and you, working with our partners—CASA and the ACLU—will seek to enact CASA’s five legislative priorities during this General Assembly session.
The priorities are:
Legal Representation. There is currently a modest amount of money allotted for detained people. We envision “universal representation.” Studies show that detained immigrants will have a 70% greater chance of success in an immigration hearing if they are represented by counsel.
End 287g Agreements. These Intergovernmental Service Agreements, named for the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act—allows the Department of Homeland Security to enter into formal, written agreements with local political entities to deputize local law enforcement officers to serve as federal immigration agents. Currently, three Maryland counties have such agreements: Cecil, Frederick and Harford.
Limit Participation with Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In 2020, Maryland enacted the Dignity Not Detention Act which ended existing detention facility contracts and prohibited local political entities from entering into new contracts with ICE. Corrections Departments and police can still transfer people to ICE custody and hold detained individuals for several hours while ICE is contacted to see if ICE is planning to deport them. We want to end this activity.
Data Privacy. While we were able to enact legislation to stop the Motor Vehicles Administration of sharing its data with ICE to identify people through their driver licenses, schools and some other state agencies still share data with ICE. We want to end this practice.
Sensitive Locations. Current Department of Homeland Security policy prevents ICE agents from entering certain areas such as schools, hospitals, courts, and churches, unless the agents perceive a threat to national security or are aware of other exigent circumstances. We want to safeguard these locations.
Yours in faith and justice, now more than ever,
Jim Caldiero, Lead Advocate, Immigration
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