The bill HB1461 is unwise and dangerous legislation that would threaten public safety, increase taxes and interfere with the enforcement of federal immigration laws that are vital to the safety and well-being of all Maryland citizens. I therefore urge your opposition to this bill.
This bill would deter public safety in several significant ways. For example, it would protect and insulate criminal illegal aliens from capture by federal immigration agents, to thereby promote and support more serious crime in Maryland through the increased violence by MS-13 gangs who especially prey off the fear, language deficiency, ignorance, and vulnerable, dependent status of others in the illegal alien community. National surveys reveal that violent crime from the illegal lien community is disproportionately higher than any other segment of the population.
The presence of large numbers of illegal aliens also places extreme financial burden on Maryland taxpayers, which has been estimated to exceed 2 billion dollars per year. Since illegal aliens are not allowed to legally work, taxpayers must cover the cost of their medical, housing, education and food services to a substantial extent. And, when they do work illegally, they drive out competition for fair, honest wages from among the low-skill workers who are American citizens.
Where I reside in College Park, Prince George's County is considered a "sanctuary jurisdiction” because local laws protect illegal aliens in the manner of HB1461. So, when arrested for local crime, illegal aliens are not being turned over to the proper federal government (ICE) authorities, except under extreme situations. The police are also barred from inquiring about immigration status when stopped for other lawful reasons. Sadly, this dangerous condition of large numbers of illegal aliens here is encouraged by the presence of the main office of CASA Maryland, which is a taxpayer-funded lobby group for the illegal alien community.
In Prince George’s County, local taxpayers are hammered with many taxpayer burdens to support the illegal alien community. For example, it is estimated that the presence of large numbers of illegal aliens here, especially those brought into our country as “unaccompanied minors”, has resulted in 30% of the student body of the Prince George’s County public school system. While lawful taxpaying homeowners are facing the highest tax burden of any jurisdiction in the area, the sanctuary status for illegal aliens has added to this burden with the extra demands for greater government funding for services to them that makes our county an incentive for even more illegals to take up residence here.
In summary, HB1461 would make the entire state of Maryland into the same “sanctuary status” as in Prince George’s County, thus bringing to all Maryland jurisdictions the same burdens and dangers faced by citizens in Prince George’s County now. For this reason, I urge your vote against this unwise, reckless and likely unconstitutional legislation. And, I also urge support for the bills HB1549 and HB1308 which would remove the dangerous and unhealthy conditions that exist in “sanctuary” jurisdictions like Prince George’s County. Passing these bills would thereby improve crime prevention, public safety, and lower the tax burden for all citizens here.