Aruna Miller Decries Mass Immigration Arrests In Maryland

India-West News Desk

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller has criticized immigration arrests in Maryland and Virginia, saying authorities should be able to enforce the law and remove violent offenders without casting entire communities as threats.

Miller, an immigrant herself, said public safety and the protection of immigrants’ rights should go hand in hand.

“As an immigrant, I know the promise of this country and the profound responsibility we have to protect it,” Miller said in a statement. “We can enforce our laws and remove violent offenders without treating entire communities as threats.”

She said public safety relies in part on trust between communities and law enforcement. That trust, she said, can suffer when people are afraid to go to work, take their children to school, seek medical care or cooperate with authorities.

Miller cited Department of Homeland Security figures showing that only a fraction of the more than 1,300 people arrested across Maryland and Virginia had been convicted of or charged with crimes.

She also criticized enforcement operations in neighborhoods, particularly when they result in parents being separated from their children. Such actions, she said, create fear among families and workers.

“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.”