In Maryland's Frederick County, flawed and racist ICE agreement is at center of sheriff's race

Frederick County, Maryland, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins is the poster boy for the flawed and racist policy that allows local law enforcement officers to cosplay as federal deportation agents. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) previously noted in a report that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intentionally sought out sheriffs with anti-immigrant records—like Jenkins—for participation in its 287(g) program.

Digital magazine Bolts reports that Jenkins is now seeking his fifth term as sheriff. He’s previously coasted to victory with margins as wide as 25 points. But in 2018, Democratic challenger Karl Bickel trimmed that down to just 4 points. Bolts reports that Bickel, a former sheriff’s deputy and a retired policing analyst at the Department of Justice, is campaigning on terminating the department’s 287(g) agreement. This has been a position of a number of winning Democratic candidates for sheriff in recent years.

“It’s just not the place of local law enforcement to get involved in immigration enforcement,” Bickel told Bolts. “It’s time to start the hard work of rebuilding trust with the immigrant community.”

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