Wicomico Coalition to Rally Against ICE Partnership
SALISBURY, Md. – The Wicomico Coalition, a chapter of the Wicomico County NAACP, will be holding a press conference and attending the Salisbury City Council meeting on Monday to protest the county’s partnership with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Wicomico Coalition previously spoke at the Wicomico County Council meeting on Sept. 2 against the county entering into a 287(g) agreement with ICE. Shortly after, County Executive Julie Giordano announced that the county would be adopting the Warrant Service Model (WSO) under the aforementioned agreement, which allows local deputies to serve warrants in immigration cases and place additional 48-hour detainers on individuals.
The City of Salisbury and the Salisbury Police Department subsequently announced that it would support the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office in this partnership, while not participating in WSO themselves.
“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,” said SPD Chief Dave Meienschein in a statement to WMDT. “SPD is going to operate within the current guidelines that were set forth by the attorney general from the state of Maryland as it relates to immigration enforcement.”
However, the City of Salisbury did announce that will adopt the Jail Enforcement Model (JEM). JEM authorizes state and local law enforcement officers in correctional facilities to screen arrestees with criminal or pending criminal charges for immigration status. Salisbury’s mayor, Randy Taylor, also issued a statement of support for the partnership, citing “unprecedented times regarding illegal immigration.”
The Wicomico Coalition is slated to speak out against the proposed agreement with a press conference in front of the Government Office Building at 5:15 p.m. They plan to attend the City Council meeting that will follow at 6:00 p.m.
“Now with the city of Salisbury agreeing to work with Sheriff Lewis and ICE, we are demanding that elected officials and regular citizens speak out against any 287(g) agreement,” said the coalition in a statement. “287(g) effectively turns local law enforcement into arms of federal immigration enforcement, directly harming Wicomico families, wasting limited local resources, and perpetuating a system of racial-profiling that targets immigrants and citizens alike.”
For more information on the Wicomico Coalition, you can visit their Facebook page here.
