One Maryland lawmaker has a great idea: Ban Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents hired to enforce President Donald Trump’s deportations from ever getting jobs in state law enforcement.
“It says something about the morals of the person—the character of the person—if they see what’s happening on TV, they see what happening in the streets and say, ‘You know what? I want to join that,’” Democratic Del. Adrian Boafo, the bill’s sponsor, told The Washington Post
Good start, but I’d go even further.
Current and former ICE agents should be barred from any state job. Public service at the state level depends on trust in government itself, and that trust collapses when residents see the same people who enforced abusive immigration policies—family separations, mass deportations, and routine violations of due process and First Amendment rights—move seamlessly into state jobs as if none of that history matters.
People gather around a makeshift memorial honoring Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis.
A state that claims to stand for inclusion, equal protection, and the rule of law can’t credibly normalize or reward participation in a regime that has systematically done the opposite.
And Boafo is right about why this will matter even after Trump has left the White House. Experience in federal employment often serves as a pipeline to other government work, and when this ICE scourge finally ends—hopefully with the wholesale nuking of the agency under the next Democratic administration—those former agents will flood the market looking for new public-sector jobs.
“I don’t want them a part of Maryland’s police force,” he said. “So this is not just about the moment now, right? It’s also about in the future.”
Related | The nightmare scenario Democrats warned about is here
Naturally, Maryland Republicans are clutching their pearls. House Minority Leader Jason C. Buckel claims the bill has “questionable legality to begin with” and dismisses it as political posturing. He warns that barring people from state employment because of previous jobs “leads to some really messy places,” especially when political disputes are involved.
But Buckel should take that up with Trump, who has overseen a massive purge of the federal workforce over political disputes.
Besides, the reality is simple: Employers are allowed to consider a candidate’s judgment when making hiring decisions. The Washington Post even consulted the chair of the Maryland Bar Association’s labor and employment chapter, who concluded: “I think the state would win.”
Maryland should absolutely adopt this bill, and other blue states should follow suit. There should be real consequences for choosing to join the American gestapo. These are not good people. They are sadistic thugs. And they should be kept as far away from public service as possible.
