Harford Co. Sheriff Among Voices On Capitol Hill Supporting Border Security
HARFORD COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) — The Harford County Sheriff was one of the voices heard in a meeting on Capitol Hill addressing immigration and border security.
Harford is one of three counties in Maryland cooperating with ICE in the identification of undocumented immigrants.
"Because our deputies are trained in partnership with ICE they are actually acting in that capacity and during that screening step as an agent of ICE," said Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.
Because of that partnership, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler joined sheriffs from 44 states in a media event on Capitol Hill.
While Gahler was not able to attend the part of the program with President Trump, he did voice concerns in an earlier meeting about U.S. border protection.
"Stronger border security is certainly something that I think most people would agree on. We see the flow of drugs, we see the flow of weapons across the border," Gahler said. "We see fentynal and carfentynal coming in from overseas and we see human trafficking, a lot of crimes that take place because we don't have secure borders,"
As of November 2017, 44 people in custody were identified in Harford County as meeting ICE criteria for removal.
"There's a pathway to citizenship to come here and I'm all for it. I think our elected leaders in Washington need to get their act together and work together regardless of party affiliation to fix what's wrong with our immigration policy and laws," Gahler said.
Harford County's partnership with ICE has been controversial, at odds with jurisdictions including Prince George's and Montgomery Counties and Baltimore identified as a sanctuary city.
Gahler says his first priority is to protect and serve Harford County.
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