With huge swaths of their budgets and, maybe, their own freedom in the balance, some of Maryland’s Democratic leaders are standing firm in the face of the Trump administration’s latest attempt to strong-arm state and local governments into helping carry out the president’s mass deportation agenda.

For months, the Trump administration has been ratcheting up the pressure over immigration enforcement, first with letters and later with ominous threats of arrests and funding cuts. But after the publication of a list of so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions nationwide, the gloves may be coming off.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated more than a dozen Maryland counties and cities, as well as the entire state, as sanctuary jurisdictions on Thursday, part of an executive order President Donald Trump issued on April 28. In the past, sanctuary jurisdictions were places with policies of not honoring immigration officials’ requests to hold in custody a person suspected of being in the country illegally beyond when they would otherwise be released.

Any jurisdiction given the sanctuary moniker will have a chance to come into compliance with the federal government’s policies, according to the order — though it’s unclear exactly what that entails or the timeframe for compliance. If they don’t, the president has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “pursue all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures,” which may include investigations and arrests of elected officials.

“These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens,” Noem said in a press release Thursday.

Some Democratic leaders, like Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, scoffed at the notion they were doing something wrong or that they could be intimidated into following Trump’s orders.

Maryland, its counties and its cities, rely on the federal government for vast portions of their operating budgets. In Baltimore, more than $200 million comes from the federal government. Montgomery County is expecting more than $250 million in federal money for the upcoming fiscal year.

Without those funds, it is likely there would be service cuts and job losses.

But Scott, in a statement, praised the value of Baltimore’s immigrant community and pledged not to “sell them out” to Trump’s administration.

“To be clear: by definition, Baltimore is not a sanctuary city, because we do not have jurisdiction over our jails. We follow our limited obligations as defined under federal immigration law,” the mayor said. “But we are a welcoming city, and we make no apologies for that.”

Montgomery County, which does cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under certain circumstances, recently came under fire for releasing an alleged MS-13 member from the county jail without notifying ICE. Elrich acknowledged the county “goofed” in that case, but said Thursday there would be no policy changes and that Trump’s plans were “morally bankrupt.”

“Under the Trump administration’s logic, county programs that provide shelter, food, or medical assistance could be construed as criminal acts of ‘harboring,’” Elrich stated in a news release. “We reject that premise. Montgomery County, our nonprofits, and our faith-based institutions will continue to do what decent and compassionate people do — we will help those in need because it is the right thing to do."

Other Democrats focused only on the Trump administration’s questions about public safety, with Gov. Wes Moore calling the DHS designation “meaningless” and “performative.”

“Maryland’s law enforcement personnel work tirelessly, in partnership with the federal government, to root out violent crime in our state,” Moore said. “When we have a violent offender in our custody, we remove them from our communities — regardless of any arbitrary list created by the Trump Administration."

Maryland’s U.S. Senators said Trump’s policy had nothing to do with public safety, instead calling it an exercise in fear-mongering. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, in a joint statement, accused the president’s staff of pursuing witch hunts at the expense of local communities.

Some officials wondered why their counties would be on such a list to begin with. A spokesperson for Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman wrote in an email that the county was not a sanctuary jurisdiction and had done nothing to warrant inclusion.

“The county has adopted no local laws or policies that obstruct federal immigration laws and does not obstruct or interfere with the enforcement of federal immigration laws,” Renesha Alphonso wrote. “The Anne Arundel County Department of Detention Facilities participates in the Criminal Alien Program, allowing ICE to take convicted criminals into custody after they serve their time.”

In an unrelated message about the county budget posted to social media on Thursday, Pittman said Anne Arundel County was well-positioned to absorb any hits from a reduction in federal money.

Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier, in her own statement on Friday, said the county was not a sanctuary jurisdiction and that public safety was of the highest priority.

“We are committed to supporting our valued law enforcement personnel while following federal, state and local law and respecting our residents’ constitutional rights,” Klausmeier said.

It’s not entirely clear how a city or county would end up on the DHS list to begin with. For example, Queen Anne’s County, which is overwhelmingly Republican, is listed as a sanctuary jurisdiction. The five county commissioners, all Republicans, issued a statement calling DHS’s sanctuary designation “wholly inaccurate” and demanded the administration quit making false claims.

“Queen Anne’s County has never adopted or endorsed sanctuary policies, nor have we enacted any ordinances or resolutions that would shield individuals in violation of federal immigration law,” the five commissioners wrote.

Perhaps no elected official in Maryland faces higher personal stakes than Calvin Ball. Howard County’s voters passed a law in 2022 prohibiting the use of county resources to assist federal immigration authorities unless there was an overriding federal or state law, or a treaty. If Ball, the county executive, were to cooperate with federal authorities he would be breaking county law; if he follows county law, the federal government seems ready to accuse him of obstructing ICE agents.

Ball, in a statement, said his administration has asked ICE to tell them if there is an overriding federal law or treaty, but have not been informed of the existence of one so far.

“We would welcome ICE to bring it to our attention, as it is our intention to stay in compliance with federal law,” a statement from Ball read. He added that the county’s law does nothing to prevent federal agents from doing their jobs.

Alex Mann, Brenda Wintrode, Darreonna Davis and Rona Kobell contributed to this article.