UPDATE: City of Salisbury Clarifies Cooperation with ICE/County Partnership

UPDATE: The Salisbury Police Department clarified Wednesday afternoon that while it is cooperating with the agreement set by Wicomico County officials with ICE, the city has not entered into a partnership with the agency at this time.

In a statement to WMDT, Chief David Meienschein said Sheriff Mike Lewis has his department’s full support but added that Salisbury police do not have the power to detain people or serve warrants. He said there is no movement to increase police presence alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in schools, churches or elsewhere in the community.

“Let’s put it that way,” Meienschein said. “In the field of operation — meaning the city streets, schools, churches, grocery stores, whatever it might be — nothing changes there. I want to reiterate to the public that it is not our goal to create a sense of public fear in the community that law enforcement would be out there doing that.

“These are only folks already wanted by ICE who are incarcerated on other offenses. Most of the time, these are individuals jailed for another crime, and then it is discovered that they are also wanted by ICE. Those detainers are then served. These are not officers going out into the field and looking for people who might be wanted on immigration warrants. These are people already incarcerated. I want to reiterate that nothing changes there.”

Meienschein said his department does not have the ability to serve those federal warrants.

“The city police department has not been requested by ICE or the county to actively participate in the service of these detainers at the detention center,” he said. “These are federal warrants, and that is the purpose of having sheriff’s deputies specifically trained to serve them. It would be a limited number of sheriff’s deputies handling these warrants. There is no request or reason the city police department would be in a situation to serve them at the jail, because there is no movement to increase that presence or to serve any other type of ICE activity.”

Meienschein said the Salisbury Police Department will operate within guidelines set by the Maryland attorney general regarding immigration enforcement.

“Again, what we are about is crime reduction in the county and in the city,” he said. “We want to support our law enforcement partners in those efforts as it relates to crime reduction.”

SALISBURY, Md. – The City of Salisbury announced on Wednesday morning that the Salisbury Police Department (SPD) would cooperate with the Wicomico County Sherriff’s Office on the 287(g) Program with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The 287(g) program allows ICE to “delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under the agency’s direction and oversight.” The City’s agreement with ICE comes shortly after Wicomico County announced its entrance into the program on Thursday, Sept. 4. Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano stated that the county would adopt the Warrant Service Model (WSO), which allows local deputies to serve warrants in immigration cases and hold individuals for an additional 48 hours while their immigration status is assessed.

However, the City of Salisbury announced it will adopt the Jail Enforcement Model (JEM). This model authorizes state and local law enforcement officers in correctional facilities to screen arrestees with criminal or pending criminal charges for immigration status.

“Through this 287(g) Jail Enforcement Model, we support and will cooperate with the Sheriff’s Office, all of our law enforcement partners and will always act in the best interest of public safety while safeguarding the trust of all residents within the community.,” said SPD Chief Dave Meienschein in a statement. “Our goal is simple: to protect everyone in our community with transparency without creating fear or division.”

Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor voiced his support for the partnership, stating, “We are clearly living in unprecedented times regarding illegal immigration. City of Salisbury law enforcement will certainly cooperate with our County law enforcement partners with any and all agreements as we aid to comply with Federal law.”

For more information on the 287(g) program, visit https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g.