Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he plans to sign emergency legislation banning working agreements between federal immigration agencies and local jurisdictions.

Democratic leaders in the Maryland General Assembly have fast-tracked the bill over a matter of weeks. It could hit Moore’s desk as soon as next week.

The governor told reporters Friday that keeping people safe is his top priority, and signing the legislation banning so-called 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was a matter of public safety.

“We are going to do everything in our power to keep people safe, but that does not mean deputizing the people who are keeping people safe to go perform functions by a rogue ICE agency,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to a bill that will make it to my desk, and I’m looking forward to signing it,” he said.

Existing 287(g) agreements allow corrections officers at local jails to ask the immigration status of someone they’ve arrested, even for minor crimes. Officers can then flag ICE and hold noncitizens for the feds for up to 48 hours after arrest.

Maryland has already banned a separate 287(g) model that allows the federal government to deputize local law enforcement to carry out immigration enforcement in communities.

Critics of the agreements say they disregard due process and allow law enforcement to racially profile Marylanders arrested for unrelated charges. Members of certain communities may also fear calling the police if they witness or are a victim of a crime.

Trump administration officials have continued to back agents’ tactics, and insist that allowing agents to pick up noncitizens who are being held in local jails keeps ICE from having to flood communities with patrols.

Moore said he has been working with the General Assembly on the issue.

The legislation would end current agreements, requiring local sheriffs to activate termination clauses as soon as Moore’s pen hits paper. Nine counties in Maryland have 287(g) programs.

Friday’s declaration was Moore’s first acknowledgement that he would sign the bill, after saying he wanted the lawmaking process to play out and that he would follow the debate.

The bill has sailed through the legislative process. Moore’s support or opposition would add little weight to whether the Democratic supermajority continued with its plans to ban the agreements.

It’s expected to cross the finish line early next week and will then be sent to Moore for his signature. He would have six days, excluding a Sunday, to sign the bill into law.

Democratic lawmakers say the ban wouldn’t risk public safety or interfere with federal immigration enforcement.

Republican lawmakers and some county sheriffs cautioned that ending the 287(g) agreements could stoke retaliation. Federal agencies, they said, could see the bans as “resistance.”

Banner reporter Madeleine O’Neill contributed to this article.