Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin on Thursday asked why Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents cannot “pick up” illegal aliens from jail, failing to mention that Democratic elected officials put barriers in the way of agents.
Raskin asked this question during the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing, though he did not mention that members of his own party have banned cooperation with ICE. The hearing featured Fairfax County Commonwealth’s attorney Steve Descano and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid who testified about sanctuary policies.
“But I’m curious, why can ICE not pick up, with its massive resources, why can they not pick up the prisoners while they are still being held, or right before they’re about to be released or at the point of discharge?” Raskin asked.
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However, Democrats have repeatedly sought to prevent authorities from cooperating with ICE. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in January that he would rather detain illegal aliens in California jails than cooperate with ICE agents. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger banned her state’s cooperation with ICE when she entered office in January.
Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro invoked the 10th Amendment to challenge the legality of ICE operations and called for theme them to cease. He argued ICE’s actions were “outside the bounds” of the Constitution and represented illegal overreach by federal authorities. Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called ICE the “modern-day gestapo” during a commencement speech in May 2025.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into whether Descano’s office offered preferential treatment to illegal alien defendants and discriminated against American citizens. The investigation stems from information that his office had adopted a Plea Bargaining, Charging Decisions, and Sentencing Policy in 2020 that would “consider immigration consequences where possible” and that “prosecutors shall consider … the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crime(s) the defendant is charged with[.]”
During the hearing, David Bier from the CATO Institute testified that one in five residence in Fairfax County are or live with immigrants.
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