It’s a short statement by a Maryland sheriff that @RapidResponse47, the Official White House Rapid Response account, posted Thursday, but it says so much.

It features Wicomico County Sheriff Michael Lewis speaking for so many of us and telling Democrats like it is, blasting them for their soft-on-crime stances and coddling of illegal aliens. Sheriffs from seven counties gathered in Annapolis Wednesday to denounce two idiotic bills that would prevent local law enforcement from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Lewis teed off on the leftist lawmakers who came up with such tomfoolery:

This is nothing more than politics over public safety! And we, as elected sheriffs, are fed up with it.

You don't see this many sheriffs in one location, in the state, at any given time. But we have to come together in unison to stop the ridiculousness that's going on up here in Annapolis, Maryland. And lawmakers need to wake up and realize Marylanders and the American people want public safety over politics, and they're not getting it.

This is nothing more than politics.

You tell ‘em, Sheriff:

Wicomico County Sheriff Michael Lewis slams Democrats for pushing pro-sanctuary policies in Maryland: "This is nothing more than politics over public safety, and we, as elected sheriffs, are fed up with it." pic.twitter.com/XOc2artU4K

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 26, 2026

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The sheriffs were responding to yet another effort by Democrats to coddle criminals and handcuff law enforcement. Embattled Gov. Wes Moore is putting Maryland residents in danger with this type of leftist legislation:

Two weeks after Gov. Wes Moore signed a law banning 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), sheriffs representing seven Maryland counties gathered in Annapolis on Wednesday to speak against two bills that aim to limit interactions with ICE even further.

After Moore signed the bill, the sheriffs vowed to continue working with ICE within a narrow framework, such as sending arrest sheets to ICE or holding individuals for up to 48 hours in local jails for ICE officials. These legal, informal interactions with ICE would be the next to go if the “Community Trust Act” is signed into law.

“They want to do everything they can to handcuff law enforcement, handcuff sheriffs across the state,” said Frederick Sheriff Chuck Jenkins during a Wednesday news conference. “We’re going to do everything we can to fight against it.”

It’s not the only time Sheriff Lewis has spoken out, and he warned lawmakers earlier in February that the bill does not mean the end of ICE in the Terrapin state — far from it:

Sheriffs across the state said ICE plans to intensify their efforts in Maryland. It comes on the heels of Gov. Wes Moore signing legislation that bans 287(g) agreements in the state; https://t.co/puugXO0ncM pic.twitter.com/RL7XFYaSEG

— WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore (@wbaltv11) February 19, 2026

"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. "Mark my words, you will see a dramatic increase in the presence of ICE in this state."

This man is all of us. Don’t let your foot off the pedal, Sheriff.

Editor’s Note: Democrats are fanning the flames and raising the rhetoric by comparing ICE to the Gestapo, fascists, and secret police.

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