I think most of us would agree that the immigration system in the United States is broken. At the center of this brokenness is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency known for human rights abuses. Most progressives, me included, would agree that abolishing this federal agency is the best solution, unless significant and sweeping reform is conducted to transform it from an agency of cruelty and injustice to one of compassion, empathy, and integrity. I won’t hold my breath on the latter.
One of ICE’s core operations is to detain immigrants suspected of visa violations or unauthorized entry until a court decision is made to deport them or grant them a visa to stay. To this end, ICE has a network of over 200 prisons and jails across the U.S., comprised of private detention facilities as well as city, county, and state jails under contract with the agency. Aside from the fact that incarceration is a needlessly heavy-handed method of immigration enforcement and local governments receiving revenue from it is contemptible, human rights abuses taking place in immigrant detention centers are well-documented. It is an understatement to say that a more humane and fair immigration system that provides compassionate assistance and legal representation to undocumented immigrants, rather than one that punishes and abuses them, is required at all levels of government.
Until major action is taken at the federal level, progressives have been forced to look for other ways to cure this problem at the state and local level. In addition to sanctuary legislation in which jurisdictions refuse to cooperate with ICE, progressives in many areas around the country are pushing for local and state governments to cancel their detention contracts with ICE. We have seen this here in Maryland, as progressives and legislators have introduced legislation such as Howard County’s CB-51 and the Dignity Not Detention Act being considered by the Maryland General Assembly. These pieces of legislation would do away with ICE detention contracts in Howard County and across the state of Maryland, respectively.
This seems like a no-brainer, right? No jurisdiction with any ounce of human compassion ought to be aiding and abetting ICE in its quest to use incarceration and mistreatment to deter (unsuccessfully, I might add) undocumented immigration. Complicity with human rights abuses and using it as a source of revenue is unthinkable.
Here’s the rub: given that ICE is a federal agency with plenty of prisons across the country at its disposal, local refusal to cooperate with their activities will not prevent the detention, deportation, or abuse of undocumented immigrants. ICE will find another state, another prison, perhaps even a private prison with no accountability and high profit motive. Immigrants may find themselves moved to red states such as Texas or Georgia, with highly partisan immigration judges who are much more likely to deport them than a judge in Maryland. Immigrants may find themselves moved to states that do not have as strong an immigrant advocacy and legal representation network as Maryland. And likely, immigrants will find themselves in yet another prison known for its human rights abuses, such as Farmville, Virginia. The cancellation of ICE detention contracts in California saw a number of unintended consequences for some detainees despite the victory.
When presented with concerns on social media, Delegate Vaughn Stewart, co-sponsor of the Dignity Not Detention Act, didn’t have definitive answers as to where detained immigrants would end up if ICE detention contracts were cancelled in either Howard County or Maryland or both. There seemed to be a possibility that some would be released with an ankle bracelet, especially those without a criminal record. He also stated that some might end up in areas with a higher likelihood of a favorable immigration court outcome. Additionally, he believed that fewer available beds might mean fewer immigrants detained. But overall, it was clear that there were no guarantees, except for one: that ICE will continue to do what it does whether Maryland participates or not.
I believe that all progressives who support ICE detention contract cancellation have immigrants’ best interests at heart. They want to make a difference in the lives of immigrants, and that should be applauded. However, given the uncertainty regarding the fates of the detainees, I fear that for some immigrants, the net result is that we are leaving them to the mercy of other states, other prisons, and other immigration judges, absolving ourselves of any control over their situation whatsoever. So, as Howard County prepares to cancel its contract, and as Maryland’s Dignity Not Detention Act moves through the legislative process, I hope the lessons learned from California can inform immigrant advocacy organizations’ assistance efforts as detainees begin their next chapter, whatever that looks like. And above all, I hope that folks are ready to push this issue hard at the federal level, now that the Trump administration is long gone. We cannot simply say “out of Maryland, out of mind” when it comes to ICE.
More needs to be done at the federal level to reform our broken immigration system. ICE needs to be abolished yesterday. But I sincerely hope that in trying to fix a federal problem at the local level, progressives in Maryland and Howard County haven’t unintentionally put some undocumented immigrants on a road to hell paved with good intentions.