杰弗里·加勒尔援引雷切尔·莫林和凯拉·汉密尔顿遇害案，警告该法案可能引发的公共安全风险
2026年9月4日 美国东部时间早上6:00 / 福克斯新闻
马里兰州一名警长警告称，该州新出台的庇护州法案可能会将危险的非法移民重新放回街头，导致更多美国家庭因本可预防的犯罪而陷入悲痛。
“这只是时间问题，”哈福德县警长杰弗里·加勒尔对福克斯新闻数字频道表示，他警告称这些限制措施将导致更多犯罪和更多受害者。
加勒尔在众议院司法小组委员会就马里兰州限制地方执法部门与联邦移民当局合作的法案作证后，发出了这番直言不讳的警告。他还联合了代表该州三分之二警力的16名同僚警长，一同提起诉讼，挑战《社区信任法案》。
这位拥有40年执法经验的老兵表示，他最担心的是，即便美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）已将某非法移民标记为对公共安全或国家安全构成威胁，该法案仍会迫使惩教人员将其从监狱释放。
哈福德县警长杰弗里·加勒尔在众议院司法小组委员会听证会上的画面。
加勒尔表示，该法案可能会迫使监狱官员释放本应离开当地羁押的在押人员，而不是将其直接移交给ICE。
“我不想打开监狱大门说：‘欢迎回到哈福德县，去继续作恶，再制造一些受害者，’”他说道，“这太荒谬了。”
加勒尔称，如果根据该法案获释的人员再次犯罪，责任将落在实施这些限制措施的民选官员身上。
“那么责任在谁手上？”他说道，“是政客们。”
加勒尔表示，他之所以作证，是为了让立法者听到执法部门负责人多年来的警告。他指责州政府官员明知风险所在，却选择将政治置于公共安全之上。
“我认为他们心知肚明，只是不在乎，”加勒尔说道，“那些支持刑事非法移民、投票通过废除我们的合作协议、炮制出《社区信任法案》这种荒唐政策的人……他们根本不在乎。”
“我们的立法机构对罪犯过于友好，”他补充道，“完全站在罪犯一边。”
加勒尔提到了他所在县的两个家庭，他们的生活被非法移民凶手彻底摧毁。
帕蒂·莫林在2024年12月10日周二的参议院司法委员会听证会上谈论她的女儿雷切尔。
37岁的五个孩子的母亲雷切尔·莫林于2023年8月在贝尔艾尔的“妈妈与爸爸步道”上遭到强奸并杀害。来自萨尔瓦多的非法移民维克托·安东尼奥·马丁内斯-埃尔南德斯已被定罪并被判处终身监禁不得假释。
20岁的自闭症患者凯拉·汉密尔顿于2022年7月在阿伯丁的家中遭到强奸并被勒死。来自萨尔瓦多的MS-13成员嫌疑人华尔特·哈维尔·马丁内斯以无人陪伴未成年人身份非法入境美国，最终被判处终身监禁，仅缓刑70年。
凯拉·汉密尔顿庆祝生日的画面。她于2022年被一名非法移民杀害。
加勒尔表示，两名女性不应被沦为政治宣传工具，并指责马里兰州移民限制法案的支持者并未真正关心这两个受害者家庭。
“雷切尔遇害后，没有人联系过帕蒂·莫林，”加勒尔说道。他补充称，也没有人联系过凯拉的母亲塔米·诺布尔斯表达哀悼，或承诺为这两名哈福德县的受害者争取正义。
2025年4月16日，在华盛顿特区白宫布雷迪新闻简报室的每日新闻发布会上，雷切尔·莫林的母亲帕蒂·莫林发言，白宫新闻秘书卡洛琳·利夫特在一旁旁观。
“我只是认为，安纳波利斯和华盛顿的一些人根本不在乎，”他补充道，“政治凌驾于公共安全之上。”
《社区信任法案》限制了马里兰州当局询问人员移民身份、因涉嫌违反民事法规拘留他们或通知ICE其被羁押的情形。
州长韦斯·摩尔未签署该法案，使其自动生效。
“在摩尔州长任内，马里兰州绝不会成为罪犯的庇护所，”摩尔的高级沟通策略师赖恩·莱克在给福克斯新闻数字频道的一份声明中说道，“事实上，自摩尔州长上任以来，马里兰州的暴力犯罪率出现了全国范围内罕见的大幅下降。”
“在保障社区安全方面，我们始终会与联邦政府合作，但未经训练、不合格且不负责任的ICE特工逮捕五岁儿童、将母亲从家庭中强行带走，并不会让任何人更安全，”莱克继续说道，“在马里兰州，我们将继续追究暴力罪犯的责任，保护马里兰州人民的宪法权利和基本尊严。”
加勒尔和其他警长认为，这些限制措施摧毁了联邦287(g)计划下与ICE建立的安全、基于监狱的合作机制。他强调，他的副手们并未开展移民突袭行动，也没有承担联邦特工的工作。
2025年8月5日，马里兰州州长韦斯·摩尔在马里兰州安纳波利斯的州议会大厦举行的新闻发布会上发言。
“我们不会替ICE做他们的工作，”加勒尔说道，“我们会与联邦合作伙伴协作，而非取代他们。”
他表示，该计划适用于已因刑事指控被羁押的人员，允许在安全的监狱内完成ICE移交，而非在其获释后通过可能更危险的逮捕行动进行移交。
“我们的287(g)计划会识别出那些在我国境内非法居留且对公民实施犯罪的人员，”加勒尔说道，“随后，在他们已被羁押的情况下，我们会在安全的监狱环境中将其安全移交给ICE。”
“任何时候我们都不需要在执法中开展突袭，这才更安全，”他补充道，“嫌疑人已被控制，只需将其移交给ICE，因为ICE认定他们对公共安全或国家安全构成威胁。”
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404448082112
加勒尔表示，对该计划的反对态度随政治环境起伏不定。他指出，哈福德县在巴拉克·奥巴马总统任期内加入了该计划，但称在唐纳德·特朗普总统重返白宫后，马里兰州的批评者重新开始反对该计划。
“他们这么做纯粹是出于政治原因，而非公共安全，”加勒尔说道，“这完全是无稽之谈。”
他将马里兰州与加利福尼亚州相提并论，称这两个由民主党领导的州似乎在竞相推行他认为偏向罪犯而非受害者的政策。
“在我看来，马里兰州和加利福尼亚州就像在打一场网球赛，”加勒尔说道，指责两州“来回击球，看谁能更愚蠢”。
2026年6月13日，在新泽西州巴约讷的9/11泪滴纪念园，日落时分两面旗帜在曼哈顿下城和世界贸易中心一号大楼前的围栏上飘扬。
这位警长还将这场斗争与即将到来的9·11恐怖袭击25周年纪念联系起来。作为9·11事件期间的马里兰州州警指挥官，加勒尔表示，这场悲剧暴露了执法机构之间致命的沟通鸿沟，而他认为马里兰州如今正在重建这些壁垒。
“9·11事件给我们的全部教训就是，我们未能在地方、州和联邦机构之间进行有效沟通，”加勒尔说道。然而25年后，他认为马里兰州却在危险地背离这一教训。
“《社区信任法案》……禁止我们与联邦执法合作伙伴沟通，”他继续说道，“没有比这更愚蠢的事了。当你看到糟糕的立法时，这已经糟糕到了极致。”
加勒尔表示，警长们将继续在法庭上争取自己的诉求，并为受害者发声。他警告称，除非州领导层改变方向，否则更多家庭将加入这个日益增长的悲惨名单。
“我们的职责应该是阻止‘天使家庭’数量的增加，”加勒尔说道，“停止让美国公民成为非法居留者所犯罪行的受害者。”
福克斯新闻数字频道的查尔斯·克莱茨为本报道撰稿。
Maryland sheriff torches Democrats over law he says puts illegal immigrants first
Jeffrey Gahler cited the killings of Rachel Morin and Kayla Hamilton in warning about the law’s potential public safety risks
September 4, 2026 6:00am EDT / Fox News
A Maryland sheriff is warning that the state’s new sanctuary law could put dangerous illegal immigrants back on the streets and leave more American families mourning crimes he says could have been prevented.
“It’s just a matter of time,” Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told Fox News Digital, warning that the restrictions will lead to more crime and more victims.
Gahler delivered the blunt warning after testifying before a House Judiciary subcommittee about Maryland’s restrictions on cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. He is also leading 16 fellow sheriffs, representing two-thirds of the state, in a lawsuit challenging the Community Trust Act.
The 40-year law enforcement veteran said his greatest fear is that the law will force correctional officers to release an illegal immigrant from jail even after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has flagged that person as a public safety or national security threat.
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler is shown during a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Gahler said the law could force jail officials to release an inmate who is otherwise eligible to leave local custody instead of transferring that person directly to ICE.
“I don’t want to have to open the jail door and say, ‘Welcome back to Harford County. Go victimize. Let’s create some more victims,’” he said. “That is insane.”
If someone released under the law commits another crime, Gahler said responsibility would rest with the elected officials who imposed the restrictions.
“So whose hands is it on?” he said. “The politicians.”
Gahler said he testified to give lawmakers a view from the front lines after years of warnings from law enforcement leaders. He accused state officials of understanding the risks but choosing politics over public safety.
“I think they understand. I think they don’t care,” Gahler said. “Those who are on the side of the issue supporting criminal illegal immigration, who voted for this nonsense of ending our agreements and coming up with the Community Trust Act … they do not care.”
“We have a criminal-friendly legislature,” he added. “It’s all pro-criminal.”
Gahler pointed to two families in his county whose lives were shattered by illegal immigrant killers.
Patty Morin speaking about her daughter, Rachel, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, December 10, 2024.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five, was raped and murdered on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air in August 2023. Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was convicted and sentenced to life without parole.
Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old autistic woman, was raped and strangled inside her Aberdeen home in July 2022. Walter Javier Martinez, a suspected MS-13 member from El Salvador who entered the U.S. illegally as an unaccompanied minor, was sentenced to life in prison, with all but 70 years suspended.
Kayla Hamilton celebrating her birthday. She was murdered by an illegal migrant in 2022.(Tammy Nobles)
Gahler said neither woman should be reduced to a political talking point and accused supporters of Maryland’s immigration restrictions of failing to show genuine concern for their families.
“No one called Patty Morin” after Rachel’s murder, Gahler said. He added that no one contacted Kayla’s mother, Tammy Nobles, to express condolences or promise to fight for the two Harford County victims.
Patty Morin, mother of Rachel Morin, speaks as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt looks on during a daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 16, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“I simply think that there are those in Annapolis and those in Washington who do not care,” he added. “It’s politics over public safety.”
The Community Trust Act limits when Maryland authorities can question people about their immigration status, hold them over suspected civil violations or notify ICE that they are in custody.
Gov. Wes Moore allowed the measure to become law without his signature.
“Maryland will never be a sanctuary for criminals under Governor Moore,” Rhyan Lake, Senior Communications Strategist for Moore, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “In fact, since Governor Moore took office, Maryland is seeing some of the largest drops in violent crime in the country.”
“We will always work with the federal administration when it comes to making our communities safer, but untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable ICE agents arresting five-year-olds and ripping mothers from their families does not make anyone safer,” Lake continued. “In Maryland, we’ll continue holding violent offenders accountable and protecting Marylanders’ constitutional rights and basic dignity.”
Gahler and the other sheriffs argue that the restrictions dismantled a safe, jail-based partnership with ICE under the federal 287(g) program. He stressed that his deputies were not conducting immigration raids or doing the work of federal agents.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks during a press conference at the Maryland State House on August 5, 2025, in Annapolis, Maryland.(Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
“We do not do ICE’s job for them,” Gahler said. “We work with our federal partners. We don’t replace our federal partners.”
He said the program applied to people already jailed on criminal allegations and allowed ICE transfers to occur inside the secure facility instead of through potentially more dangerous arrests after their release.
“Our 287(g) program identified those people who were here committing criminal offenses against our citizens and are in the country illegally,” Gahler said. “Then we turned them over safely in the security and safety of our jail after they were already in custody.”
“Anytime we don’t have to do a raid in law enforcement, it’s safer,” he added. “You have the person secured. Turn them over to ICE because ICE says they pose a threat to public safety or national security.”
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404448082112
Gahler said opposition to the program has ebbed and flowed with the political climate. He noted that Harford County joined under President Barack Obama, but said Maryland critics renewed their opposition when President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
“They’re doing it for purely political reasons and not public safety,” Gahler said. “That’s complete nonsense.”
He compared Maryland with California, saying the two Democrat-led states appeared to be competing over policies he believes favor offenders over victims.
“I look at Maryland and California as playing a game of tennis,” Gahler said, accusing the states of “whacking the ball back and forth across the court to see who can be more idiotic.”
Two flags flutter on a fence in front of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center at the Tear Drop 9/11 Memorial at sunset on June 13, 2026, in Bayonne, New Jersey.(Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
The sheriff also tied his fight to the approaching 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A Maryland State Police commander on 9/11, Gahler said the tragedy exposed deadly communication gaps among law enforcement agencies, barriers he believes Maryland is now rebuilding.
“The complete takeaway from 9/11 was that we didn’t communicate” effectively across local, state and federal agencies, Gahler said. Yet 25 years later, he argued, Maryland has moved dangerously far from that lesson.
“The Community Trust Act … forbids us from talking to a federal law enforcement partner,” he continued. “It doesn’t get any more stupid than that. When you see terrible legislation, that’s as bad as it gets.”
Gahler said the sheriffs will keep pressing their case in court and speaking out for victims. Unless state leaders change course, he warned, more families will join a grim and growing list.
“Our job should be to stop increasing the number of angel families,” Gahler said, “and stop allowing American citizens to be the victims of crime committed by people who are in our country illegally.”
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.