Maryland Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller has criticized recent mass immigration arrests across Maryland and Virginia, arguing that broad enforcement operations undermine public trust and do not necessarily improve community safety.
“As an immigrant, I know the promise of this country and the profound responsibility we have to protect it,” Miller said. “We can enforce our laws and remove violent offenders without treating entire communities as threats.”
Miller emphasized that effective public safety depends on trust between residents and law enforcement. She said that trust is weakened when people fear going to work, taking their children to school, seeking medical care or cooperating with authorities.
“Maryland will continue to stand for both public safety and the basic dignity and constitutional rights of every person who calls our state home,” Miller said. “Those principles are not in conflict. They are fundamental to who we are.”
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She added that keeping Maryland communities safe requires holding violent offenders accountable while ensuring that everyone is treated with dignity and afforded constitutional protections.
Citing figures from the Department of Homeland Security, Miller said only a fraction of the more than 1,300 people arrested across Maryland and Virginia had been convicted of or charged with crimes.
“Sweeping through neighborhoods, separating parents from their children, and creating fear among families and workers does not make us safer,” she said.
