SALISBURY, Md. -- The City of Salisbury injected itself into conversations surrounding a potential partnership between Wicomico County and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month. Now, there are questions as to whether the city can or should get involved.
Councilwoman Michele Gregory's answer to the question of whether the city "should" get involved is no.
"Just on a moral ground, I do not feel that this is something that we should be doing," said Gregory.
Gregory is worried this would stretch an already understaffed police department thin, and said it could send fear rippling through immigrant communities.
"I think number one, you'll see an increase in unreported crime, I think that it will make many of those in that community fearful of reporting things that they see or experience," said Gregory. "It would actually probably make our community less safe statistically."
She's not the only city official who wants Salisbury to distance itself from the county.
During Monday night's work session, Councilwoman April Jackson said, "We need to stay out of this. We need to definitely stay out of this. I don't care how anybody feels. We need to stay out of this."
During Monday's meeting, it was also mentioned that participation may not even be an option. On Wednesday, Gregory expanded on why that is.
"Traditionally, they[ICE] only work with the county and state level officials," said Gregory. "There is a limited role that we could play, but honestly, it's not something that I feel our department has the capacity for."
Still, Mayor Randy Taylor, who advocated for the city's involvement in their announcement on September 10th, sees a way forward.
He provided the following statement to WBOC on Wednesday:
"As Mayor, I am working closely with the Chief of the Salisbury Police Department and in coordination with Sheriff Lewis and Wicomico County leadership to define a clear, effective process to remove individuals with outstanding criminal warrants from our streets. This is a matter of basic public safety.
Let me be clear: Salisbury Police is focused on reducing the number of active criminals in our community. That work must be strategic, coordinated, and consistent with our ongoing commitment to law enforcement collaboration. We are simply assisting in a process that is already a part of standard police operations, and any adjustments to that process will not represent a major departure from our normal procedures.
We respect the role of federal agencies such as ICE and believe each agency should be allowed to do its job. Our local efforts remain focused on keeping Salisbury safe through responsible, coordinated policing."