Maryland
Can Democratic lawmakers curb federal immigration efforts in Maryland? They think so – WTOP News
Democratic legislators intend to pass laws to target the efforts of federal immigration officers operating in the state of Maryland.
While affordability and the state’s budget are the themes talked about by Democratic legislators, some of the laws they intend to quickly pass will target the efforts of federal immigration officers operating in the state of Maryland.
One bill, Senate Bill 1, which is reserved for legislation that wants to make a symbolic point, would prohibit federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks while conducting normal operations.
“I think all of us can sit back and imagine if you’re sitting in your car and somebody runs up to you, even as a law enforcement agent that quickly shows us a badge and has their face covered, I know I would be terrified,” said Senate President Bill Ferguson. “It’s just not how you build trust in policing.”
With a super majority in both chambers, a version of the bill is expected to pass over the objections of Republicans like Frederick County State Sen. William Folden.
“I don’t think that as a state, we’re allowed to tell the federal government — we can’t tell them what their policies are going to be,” Folden said. “Let’s be very transparent on this. If we didn’t have… activists going out and doxing these agents and their families and putting their addresses out on social media and endangering them — their well being — as well as their family. You wouldn’t have this problem.”
Folden, who spent decades with Maryland State Police, calls the bill an “irrational response” from Democrats who want to distract voters from issues of affordability, especially as it pertains to energy bills around the state.
Ferguson said under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the state has the power to pass bills like this.
“Anything that is not expressly outlined in the Constitution is the responsibility of the state,” Ferguson said. “How a law enforcement entity operates in the state of Maryland is subject to Maryland state laws and constitution.”
Folden expressed skepticism about that.
“I don’t know that that’s accurate,” he said. “They’re literally federal law enforcement officers that have a job description, and they’re enforcing the law of the land.
Folden compared the high number of deportations under former President Barack Obama’s administration to ICE’s operations in the U.S. under President Donald Trump.
“We didn’t see this,” he said. “We didn’t see these people out there doxing federal agents.”
Ferguson did admit the issue would likely end up in the courts.
Another issue likely to be decided in a courtroom is the participation of local enforcement agencies with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program, which allows local officers to help ICE identify and remove noncitizens arrested for another crime. Efforts to keep local agencies from participating in that program stalled out last year.
Ferguson and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk say that won’t happen this time.
“Immigrants deserve to live with dignity and respect,” Peña-Melnyk said. “How can we as Americans stand by the disrespect? The abuses? People losing their lives? Racial profiling? Civil rights violation?
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat,” she added. “What’s right is right, what’s wrong is wrong. You don’t treat any human being that way. My God, that I believe in, loves everyone.”
Ferguson described ICE as a “paramilitary force” that was “offensive to humankind” during his comments Wednesday.
“Of course, we should enforce the law, but we don’t need to do it in a way that disrespects humanity,” Ferguson said. “So until there is a major shift, until there is a major restructuring of how that organization functions, Maryland should not be partnering and furthering an organization that does not follow Maryland values.”
But Folden touted the system and said scrapping it will only lead to more chaos.
“The process we have in place is very uniform,” Folden said. “It’s justified, as they’re already under arrest for another offense, and it’s not invasive into our communities, as far as boots on the ground going in and being disruptive. It’s only when they have another contact with law enforcement for an arrestable offense.”
He said the elimination of the program in Maryland would likely lead to the sort of efforts and encounters happening in Minnesota.
Folden also isn’t sure the state has the power to tell elected sheriffs, whose jobs exist under the state constitution, when they can and can’t engage with federal agencies. If the bill is passed into law, it’ll be a judge who makes that determination.
“They’re already lining up. They’ve already got counsel,” said Folden, about some sheriffs’ offices. “They’re lining up because everyone can see the writing on the wall. It’s about virtue signaling. It’s not about anything else except hiding their own mismanagement of funding and taxpayer dollars.”
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MARYLAND (WBFF) — A Maryland woman was sentenced to two years in prison for her involvement in a multi-million-dollar money laundering scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Maryland announced on Friday.
Fatoumata Boiro, 32, of Largo, will serve two years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and has also been ordered to pay $6,838,558.31 in restitution.
Boiro was found guilty of conspiring to engage in a large, multi-member money-laundering operation. She pled guilty to being involved in the conspiracy and acknowledged that at least $3 million was laundered through her direct participation.
From 2021 through February 2024, she and several other individuals laundered proceeds from a significant wire fraud scheme, according to court documents.
Court documents revealed that the conspirators engaged in various financial transactions to conceal the source, ownership, and control of the wire fraud proceeds, as well as their location.
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The victims of this scheme included government agencies, organizations, and companies, such as an environmental trust, an urban redevelopment program, a medical center, a transportation company, a logistics company, a school district, a college, and a county government, officials reported.
Boiro and her co-conspirators created limited liability companies to act as shell entities, opened bank accounts in the names of these entities, and received and laundered funds from fraudulent activities.
Fourteen defendants have been charged in connection with the money-laundering conspiracy, with 13 already pleading guilty.
Officials reported that Faizou Gnora, 28, formerly of Alexandria, Virginia, remains at large.
The following includes the individuals previously sentenced:
- Yahya Sowe, 42, of College Park, to 114 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $13,050,827.03, and forfeiture of $1 million
- Bright Boateng, 45, of Bladensburg, Maryland, to 108 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $1,247,950, and a forfeiture of $431,750
- Victor Killen, 33, of Hyattsville, Maryland, to 63 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $7,070,656.46, and a $3-million forfeiture order
- Gedeon Agbeyome, 31, of Montgomery County, Maryland, to 72 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, along with restitution of $2,938,424.65, and a $2.8 million preliminary order of forfeiture
- Lawrence Ogunsanwo, 33, to 40 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $5,648,816.23
- Lakeisha Parker, 33, of Baltimore, to 36 months in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, and restitution of $8,306,930.95
- Martin Ogisi, 37, of Severn, Maryland, to 33 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, restitution of $11,077,044.17; and a $500,000 forfeiture order
- Kevin Colon, 34, of Curtis Bay, Maryland, to 27 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, restitution of $2,515,159.63, and a $214,518.42 forfeiture order
- Areal Harris, 27, of Hanover, Maryland, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $3,159,482.83
- Emily Gil Arias, 29, of Silver Spring, Maryland to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of 2,102,919.27
- Lorena Perez Herrera, 29, of Washington, DC, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $1,473,125.58
- Blondel Ndjouandjouaka, 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, restitution of $733,941.48, and a $757,562.63 forfeiture order.
Now, Boiro will spend the next two years in prison.
(Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice is suing Maryland and State Attorney General Anthony Brown, alleging the state’s “sanctuary” policies hinder the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
The lawsuit claims that Maryland’s sanctuary policies are illegal under federal law and that the state’s “refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities” has had negative consequences for immigration law enforcement officials.
What we know:
According to the lawsuit, the state’s refusal to cooperate has led to facilities refusing to help transfer immigrants to federal custody.
Under the direction of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the DOJ’s Civil Division will identify state and local laws, policies and practices that violate federal laws or impede federal operations.
“When sanctuary jurisdictions enact laws to shield [undocumented immigrants] from federal law enforcement, it is not merely federal law that is violated, but the voices of everyday American voters silenced,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.
The lawsuit cites Maryland’s Community Trust Act, a law that went into effect in May, which prevents local law enforcement from holding an individual without a warrant on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). There is an exception for those who commit felonies or sex offenses.
What they’re saying:
The Community Trust Act law sparked pushback from local law enforcement leaders across the state, with 17 of Maryland’s 24 sheriffs suing, and saying the law “undermines public safety and restricts cooperation” between local and federal officials.
“Such blatant disregard for federal laws that have been on the books for decades is not merely a political disagreement or passive abstention; it is deliberate, disruptive action that jeopardizes the public safety for all Americans,” the DOJ lawsuit reads. “The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution prohibits a state from obstructing Congress and the Executive in this manner.”
The Source: This information is from a Department of Justice lawsuit.
GLEN BURNIE, Md. (WBFF) — An office building in Glen Burnie was evacuated on Thursday afternoon after its underground parking garage experienced a shift in one of its floors.
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department initially responded to the 7300 block of Ritchie Highway around 2:30 p.m. on July 9 after reports of a partial building collapse.
However, the department later clarified that there has been no collapse of the 10-story building.
Officials said crews are evaluating the building’s structural integrity after work was being performed in the parking garage.
All occupants were safely evacuated, and no injuries have been reported, according to Fire Captain Jenny Macallair.
The fire department is asking drivers to avoid the area while crews continue their assessment.
FOX45 News has a crew on the way to the scene, and we will provide updates as they become available.
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