“It is the biggest betrayal to law enforcement and public safety that I have ever seen,” said Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis. “This is sad day for Maryland, it really is. This is a sad day for Maryland.”

The group of Maryland sheriffs held a joint press conference on Wednesday to decry the ban on state participation in the federal government’s 287(g) program that pairs local law enforcement departments to federal agencies to work directly in immigration enforcement and other law enforcement operations.

Sheriff Lewis ripped Gov. Moore and state Democrats for the folly of banning the 287(g) program as a “betrayal to law enforcement,” and pointed out that the ban does not stop ICE from doing its work, regardless.

“The abolishment of the 287(g) program is not the abolishment of ICE. They’re going nowhere. In fact, they’re going to intensify their efforts,” Lewis said, according to WBAL-TV. “Mark my words, you will see a dramatic increase in the presence of ICE in this state.”

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