Federal immigration authorities are meeting behind closed doors with Howard County’s top elected leaders to discuss a dispute over detaining people in the county jail who are suspected of entering the country illegally.

Days after ICE’s Baltimore field office slammed Howard County Detention Center for not holding an Honduran national convicted of rape past his release date, the office’s acting director Nikita Baker asked to meet with County Council’s five members, according to a June 2 email obtained by the Banner.

The email also disclosed that ICE officials met with County Executive Calvin Ball, Chief Administrative Officer Brandee Ganz and Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Jamar Herry in May to discuss detainers.

Representatives for ICE’s Baltimore field office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

The talks reveal for the first time the extent of the federal government’s efforts to push for change in one of Maryland’s so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions. It’s not clear whether ICE officials have tried to meet with elected leaders in other places around Maryland.

ICE has long asked local authorities across the country to detain incarcerated people who are suspected of entering the country illegally for up to 48 hours past their scheduled release so that immigration agents can pick them up.

Jurisdictions handle the requests differently, but Howard County stands out in Maryland for having a law on the books that prohibits county employees from assisting with immigration enforcement. The County Council voted 4-1 to approve the Liberty Act in 2020, and voters upheld the law in a 2022 referendum.

Advocates say policies and laws like the Liberty Act exist to encourage migrants to report crimes and cooperate with local police without fear, leaving federal agents to enforce civil immigration violations.

Three years later, President Donald Trump’s administration and advisers are threatening to withhold federal funding from Howard and other places that it views as uncooperative on immigration enforcement.

Baker publicly criticized the Howard County Detention Center last week for twice releasing Alex Yonatan Flores-Arce, a Honduran man who pleaded guilty to raping a 17-year-old girl and served 193 days in jail.

The county executive’s office has repeatedly pushed back against federal pressure on detainers, stating the Liberty Act does not prevent or obstruct federal immigration enforcement. Agents took Flores-Arce into custody May 22 as he walked out of the Howard County Detention Center.

County spokeswoman Safa Hira did not respond to a list of questions about the Ball administration’s meeting with ICE, such as who initiated it and how long it lasted.

In a statement, Hira said the Liberty Act does not fall under the county executive’s purview and cannot be changed without legislative action by the County Council.

County officials are unaware of any laws that preempt the Liberty Act and require local officials to hold a detainee beyond a court-ordered release date, she said.

“If there were such a law, treaty, or agreement that requires us to enforce federal immigration law or hold a detainee beyond their release date we would welcome ICE to bring it to our attention, as it is our intention to stay in compliance with Federal law,” Hira said. “We have and continue to ask ICE for this legal guidance.”

ICE’s email to the council states that Ball and other administrators suggested federal officials continue “productive conversations” about detainers with the county’s five council members.

County Council Chair Liz Walsh, a Democrat, said she plans to meet on her own with ICE officials to hear what they have to say. A meeting of three or more council members would constitute a quorum and require public notice.

The three other council Democrats, Deb Jung, Opel Jones and Christiana Rigby, did not respond to requests for comment.

The council’s lone Republican, David Yungmann, who represents the jurisdiction’s conservative western district, voted three times for Trump and considers the Liberty Act to be a bad law that could cost the county money.

Yet his efforts to rein in the legislation have not been successful. Yungmann recalled introducing a motion to amend the Liberty Act to exempt detainer requests, but said he couldn’t get enough support to bring it to a vote. He later donated money to a grassroots effort to put the Liberty Act on the ballot for a public referendum, but 64% of voters opted to uphold the law.

Yungmann said he’s happy to meet with ICE officials, but asked his staff to remind them that elected leaders already convened with former field office director Matthew Elliston in summer 2024.

ICE has since tapped Baker to take over as acting director in Baltimore after Elliston was promoted in March to a position at ICE headquarters in Washington.

Yungmann said he wants federal authorities to clarify exactly what needs to change in Howard County in order to avoid federal funding cuts.

However, he told Elliston that he wouldn’t revive conversations about changing the Liberty Act if no other elected leaders would consider changing the law.

“I’m not going to put everybody through that public debate if we know it’s not going to be fruitful anyway,” Yungmann said. “I would be on my own.”