Northeast
Maryland Dem says 'forget the border,' claims it's a GOP 'talking point' amid call for more legal immigration
A Democrat in the race to represent Maryland in the Senate urged listeners at a recent candidate forum to “forget the border,” calling it a “Republican talking point and a distraction” as he pushed for an increase in the total number of migrants allowed to legally enter the U.S. each year.
The comments from Rep. David Trone, D-Md. – who is running against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to become Maryland’s next U.S. senator – came as he discussed affordable housing during an April 2 forum in Towson, a Baltimore suburb.
Asked about his plan to address the “lack of affordable housing,” Trone suggested that the prices of houses have reached new heights in recent years because there’s not enough supply to meet the demand.
Trone said the U.S. is “650,000 workers short in the construction industry” and insisted that’s a result of America’s immigration policies.
FOR MORE FOX NEWS COVERAGE ON IMMIGRATION, CLICK HERE
“You know who builds all of our homes in the construction industry, virtually all? Latinos,” Trone said during a recent candidate forum. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“You know who builds all of our homes in the construction industry, virtually all? Latinos,” Trone said. “Our immigration policies just don’t make any sense. We need more lawful [immigration].”
“Forget the border, that’s a Republican talking point and a distraction. Let’s talk about how do we drive our economy,” he said. “We drive our economy with folks that have ideas, that don’t look like me, that look different. The difference of all of us, our diversity, that’s what makes us such an unbelievable, incredible country — our diversity.”
Trone argued that the cap on the number of legal immigrants allowed to enter the U.S. each year should be increased.
“Right now, we have one million immigrants come in a year, legally, for the last 25 years. We’ve never changed it in the last 25 years. Why? Because Congress is waiting for comprehensive immigration reform.”
Trone suggested that voters should call for one “small step” after the other until the number of migrants allowed to legally enter the country each year is increased.
“That’s what we do in business. We do one small step at a time until we get the whole thing done,” he said.
“We need to take that one million to five million,” he added. “Five million legal immigrants by in-country immigration. In-country immigration means you don’t come to El Paso and say, ‘I’m presenting myself,’ you’re in El Salvador, you’re in Haiti… and you go to the American embassy, you go to the American consulate.”
Pointing to companies like Apple and eBay, Trone claimed that immigrants create “tens of millions of jobs.”
Rep. David Trone is running in the Democratic primary race against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to become Maryland’s next U.S. senator. (Getty Images)
TOP DEMOCRAT IN TIGHT SENATE RACE BACKS CITIZENSHIP, VOTING RIGHTS FOR MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Trone also noted the long wait times for those seeking to immigrate to America legally, saying 26% of those who have already been approved to come to the United States from seven different countries “will be dead when they get admitted.”
“We’ve approved them, but they haven’t gotten to the front of the line yet. And [26%] won’t make it to the front,” he added.
Trone’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about his remarks.
Trone – a leading candidate in the crowded Democratic primary field of 10 candidates seeking to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. – has represented Maryland’s 6th Congressional District in the House since 2019.
The comments from Trone came after he declared his support for granting citizenship and voting rights to the millions of illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. during a separate candidate forum in March.
Rep. Trone talks with constituents after a roundtable on Latino issues at a library in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Oct. 15, 2023. (Robb Hill for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“We need to welcome all 12 million folks here now that are DACA, TPS, and undocumented – make them citizens, and move forward. They have all the rights everybody here should have also,” Trone said at the time, referencing Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA), also known as “Dreamers,” who were brought to the U.S. as children by illegal immigrant parents, as well as migrants granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
The winner of the Democratic Senate primary election will likely head to a general election matchup against former Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who entered the race in February.
Hogan, a popular critic of former President Trump, is the leading GOP candidate among his primary challengers.
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NORWAY — The Select Board voted early this month to terminate its contract with the town’s auditor, citing slow response times and a lack of progress on the 2024 audit.
Norway has worked with Runyon Kersteen Ouellette, or RKO, for the past four years.
According to minutes from the April 2 meeting, the town has paid the firm more than $90,000, including a recent $40,000 payment.
“RKO has had extremely slow response times, upward of several weeks for answers to inquiries,” the minutes read.
The firm also had not provided a draft of the 2024 audit to the town.
At the meeting, Courtenay Dodds, the town’s deputy treasurer and finance officer, recommended ending RKO’s engagement for the 2025 and 2026 audits and hiring RHR Smith & Co. of Buxton.
The Office of the State Auditor reports that RHR Smith & Co. audits more than 175 municipalities in Maine.
Asked this week why the town ended its contract with RKO, Select Board Vice Chair Sarah Carter‑Hill wrote in an email, “From my understanding they were taking an incredibly long time to produce the 2024 audit, overcharging for services, and hadn’t started in 2025 so we have switched auditors to be more fiscally responsible and have timelier results.”
Police Chief Jeffery Campbell, who has also served as interim town manager, said the matter has been referred to the town attorney and declined to comment further.
RKO could not be reached for comment before publication.
State auditor records show RKO signed Norway’s 2021 audit Feb. 4, 2022; the 2022 audit March 26, 2023; and the 2023 audit June 4, 2024.
The auditor’s office, which receives completed municipal audits, also reports that RKO audits 24 municipalities in Maine. Of those, Brewer, Brunswick, Cumberland, Freeport and Long Island have filed their 2025 audits.
Twelve municipalities — Auburn, Bangor, Belgrade, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Gorham, Kennebunkport, South Portland, Saco, Winthrop, Yarmouth and York — have not yet filed their 2025 audits.
Norway, Augusta, Biddeford, Durham, Matinicus Isle Plantation and Monmouth have not filed audits for 2024 or 2025.
Orono is missing audits for 2022, 2023 and 2025.
The audits are available here.
Rideshare drivers would face more rigorous background checks and riders would get more ways to verify they’re in the right car under new rules proposed by Massachusetts regulators that they say would lead the nation for passenger and driver protection.
Other requirements under the Department of Public Utility’s proposal include children under 16 needing to be accompanied by an adult in a rideshare, annual driver training for things like safe driving and helping riders with disabilities and regular checks for whether rideshare vehicles have been recalled by their manufacturer, the agency said Friday.
Get more detail on the proposal here.
“Massachusetts has the opportunity to set the standard for safety and oversight of the [Transportation Network Companies] industry with these updated regulations,” said DPU Chair Jeremy McDiarmid in a statement. “The proposed changes reflect our top line goal of promoting passenger safety and ensuring driver fairness and dignity in the background check process.”
Uber and Lyft are among the five rideshare companies, which the DPU calls Transportation Network Companies, currently authorized to work in Massachusetts; more than 104,000 drivers are currently certified in the state, according to the agency.
The DPU already conducts background checks — it says it’s conducted more than 800,000 since 2017 — and issues civil penalties to the companies if they’re not in compliance with state law.
With the publication of the enhanced regulations, the public — including drivers and other stakeholders — have until July 2 to give feedback in writing, and the DPU will hold two hearings as well. Details on how to give feedback are available here.
It’s been a little over a year since New Hampshire police departments started signing agreements with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help enforce immigration law in the state.
ICE now has 15 local partnerships, which are encouraged by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, and these so-called 287g agreements have contributed to a notable uptick in arrests here. Immigration arrests have doubled in the last 15 months. Of 429 people arrested, local agencies made 51 of them.
What’s in for local police? In part, money. ICE offers at least $100,000 in stipends, and local police departments are using that money to pay for operating expenses.
We talk about this on this edition of the New Hampshire News Recap.
Also, the state’s youth detention center continues to make headlines. Authorities are investigating recent allegations of abuse against children at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Lawmakers and advocates are also raising concerns about leadership of the center.
In other news, there’s good news for Franklin. In a bit of a comeback story, the city’s high school was just named the top high school in the state.
Guests:
- Lau Guzmán, NHPR reporter
- Annmarie Timmins, NHPR Youth and Education reporter
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