Maryland
Convicted Honduran national arrested by federal immigration agents in Maryland
A Honduran national who was convicted of a crime in Maryland was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on May 22.
Alex Yonatan Flores-Arce, 20, entered the U.S. illegally, according to ICE.
U.S. Border Patrol encountered him near El Paso, Texas, in March 2019, where he was served with a notice to appear.
Howard County fails to honor ICE detainer
In announcing Flores-Arce’s arrest, ICE also accused Howard County of ignoring a request to keep him detained. Immigration officials said Flores-Arce was released back into the community twice.
Flores-Arce was arrested in October 2024 and charged with rape in Howard County. He was found guilty in April and sentenced to 15 years in prison and five years of probation.
ICE said they submitted an immigration detainer for Flores-Arce on January 13 to the Howard County Department of Corrections.
An immigration detainer is a request that ICE submits to state or local law enforcement, asking them to hold a person for up to 48 hours and send a notification before releasing a suspect. It allows federal immigration officials time to take a person into custody.
According to ICE, the department did not honor the detainer and instead released Flores-Arce from custody on May 5.
On May 8, Flores-Arce was arrested for violating his probation. He was arrested by ICE as he left the detention center, officials said.
“The decision by Howard County Detention Center to ignore our immigration detainer and release a removable individual with an egregious criminal history undermines public safety and put Maryland communities at risk,” ICE Baltimore acting Field Office Director Nikita Baker said.
Flores-Arce has a final administrative removal order and remains in ICE’s custody.
Howard County designated as sanctuary jurisdiction
Howard County was among eight Maryland counties that the Trump administration recently designated as sanctuary jurisdictions.
The designation came after an executive order from the President on April 28 required the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to share a list of states, cities and counties that “obstruct the enforcement of Federal immigration laws.”
According to the administration, sanctuary jurisdictions are locations that “deliberately and shamefully” ignore federal immigration laws.
“Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril,” DHS said.
According to ICE Baltimore officials, Flores-Arce’s arrest was not the first time that Howard County failed to honor an immigration detainer.
“This failure is not an isolated incident, but part of a concerning pattern we see all too often,” Baker said in a statement. “…Working together with local jurisdictions is the only way to keep our neighborhoods safe and uphold the rule of law.”
Maryland
Md. Gov. Moore touts public safety funding increase, even with crime continuing to drop – WTOP News
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore noted the continuing decrease in crime across the state and shared a proposal to spend $124.1 million on public safety in the next fiscal year budget.
Executive Aisha Braveboy and Police Chief George Nader(WTOP/John Domen)
Maryland lawmakers return to Annapolis next week, and plugging a roughly $1 billion budget hole will be one of many items on their agenda as the 2026 session gets underway.
This week, Gov. Wes Moore has been touting parts of the budget he’ll be unveiling, to go with legislation he intends to champion in Annapolis.
On Thursday, he stood in front of a huge gathering of police, federal law enforcement and prosecutors at the Maryland State Police Barracks in College Park to talk about the continuing decrease in crime and share a proposal to spend $124.1 million on public safety in the next budget.
“That is the highest level of funding in our state’s history, and a $2.3 million increase over last year’s budget,” Moore said. “These are real resources for local police departments all throughout the state of Maryland.”
He said the funding will support overtime patrolling and new equipment that “officers need to make sure they are doing their job safely and that they can get home to their families.”
Moore also took issue with the premise, often posed to Democrats, that you have to choose between siding with law enforcement or siding with “the community,” arguing that he does both “unapologetically.” He also promised that his plan for public safety is both urgent and strategic.
“This is backed by data and built on three core pillars,” Moore said. “Provide the resources and the support that law enforcement needs; build stronger, more vibrant communities that leave no one behind; and coordinate all aspects of government and community to make sure that our streets are safer.”
As he enters the final year of his term, Moore highlighted a 25% reduction in homicides around the state, to a number he said is the lowest in 40 years. He also touted a 50% violent crime reduction and a sharp drop in non-fatal shootings.
“This is not trends or vibes. It happens because we made smart investments, and it happened because we chose to do something really unique — work together,” Moore said. “We are standing here coordinated, bipartisan, nonpartisan, knowing that community safety does not have a partisan bend and protecting our neighbors does not have a political affiliation.”
At the same time, Moore said he wasn’t taking a victory lap about the heartening trends in crime just yet.
“We are making progress, yes, but we will not rest until everybody and all of our communities feel safe,” he said. “Too often, false choices will dominate the public safety debate. Do we want to hold criminals accountable, or do we want to focus on rehabilitation? We’re told to pick a side without understanding that’s not how people live.”
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