Churches and Immigration - Presbytery of Baltimore

What you should know

A number of Executive Orders have been issued to change policies related to refugees, immigrants with a variety of different authorized immigration statuses and those who are undocumented, including a surge in raids by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). It is important that individuals and congregations are informed concerning the rights of churches andthe rights of immigrants and undocumented individuals in response to the recent decisions by the current administration.

Here are some frequently asked questions and responses.

What Are Sanctuary Cities?

According to the New York Times, states, counties and cities across the U.S. have adopted policies to limit cooperation with immigration agents who seek to deport undocumented immigrants.

These cities, counties, and states have laws, ordinances, regulations, resolutions, policies, or other practices that obstruct immigration enforcement and shield criminals from ICE — either by refusing to or prohibiting agencies from complying with ICE detainers, imposing unreasonable conditions on detainer acceptance, denying ICE access to interview incarcerated aliens, or otherwise impeding communication or information exchanges between their personnel and federal immigration officers.

The following are sanctuary counties in the state of Maryland. Baltimore, Baltimore County, Charles County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Queen Anne’s County, St. Mary’s County https://cis.org/Map-Sanctuary-Cities-Counties-and-States

Additional information can be found here: https://www.uscisguide.com/state-regulations-and-
laws/sanctuary-cities-in-maryland/