FREDERICK - Frederick County sheriff's deputies have become the first Maryland law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of people they arrest, a move authorities say is a necessary tool for policing, but one that has sparked an outcry from advocates who say the policy is costly and encourages ethnic profiling.
CASA of Maryland, the state's largest immigrant advocacy group, held a news conference yesterday at which it released a report estimating the policy could cost the county $3.2 million a year. Opponents called for an end to the program, which is the result of an agreement signed Feb. 6 between the Frederick County Sheriff's Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
CASA's estimate of the cost of the policy took into account increased police training, staffing, detention costs and the possibility of a drain on the county's foster care system if immigrant parents are detained.
County Commissioner Charles A. Jenkins said later that he doubted the veracity of CASA's figures and supports the sheriff's efforts. He said the county is reimbursed by the federal government for detaining immigrants.
"They're not knocking on doors, saying 'show me your papers,' " Jenkins said. "Legal taxpayers do not need to worry about this. ... Illegal immigration costs us a lot, and we have limited resources here. I am not interested in becoming a sanctuary county."
The issue reflects intense debate over immigration in the county, which has the fastest-growing immigrant population in Maryland. The county's foreign-born population increased from 4 percent in 2000 to 9 percent in 2006, according to U.S. Census estimates, with the majority of the influx being Latino.
In the fall, Jenkins proposed a law that would deny county services, including schooling, to immigrants who entered the country illegally. The measure failed. Then two weeks ago, commissioners proposed a measure to require all county documents to be written in English only. The effort failed, and instead commissioners adopted a largely symbolic resolution proclaiming English as the county's primary language of communication.
Kerry O'Brien, legal director at CASA, said immigrants have become scapegoats in Frederick and in other places where restrictive local immigration policies have been passed, such as Prince William County, Va., where stringent immigration enforcement has ignited fierce debate.
