Before the sun came up Wednesday, agents with the Baltimore region’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement prepared for a morning of action.

FOX45 News was there as the tactical gear was put on, briefings were given, and plans were made during the first local media ride-along with ICE during the second Trump Administration.

One of the targets was a man who has a murder warrant in Prince George’s County, according to Maryland ICE Director Matthew Elliston. The man has a history of drug distribution charges and is wanted for immigration reasons.

However, because of current immigration policies in Prince George’s County, Elliston said the suspect would not be turned over to him if arrested by local authorities.

“I mean, we’re out today trying to arrest somebody that’s wanted in their county for murder, and, if I do turn them over to Prince George’s for his murder charge, they won’t give him back to me when he’s done, which is just a wild concept,” Elliston said.

“This is when I miss [former Prince George’s County Executive Angela] Alsobrooks being there, because I could call her and she’d say, ‘no, no, no. We’ll definitely turn this guy back over to you.’ But hopefully, the next county executive kind of feels the same way.”

Elliston said he’s asked the U.S. Department of Justice to take action against Prince George’s and Howard counties because both jurisdictions are resistant to honor ICE detainers.“I’ve asked the Attorney General’s Office of the Department of Justice to look at filing a similar lawsuit like we did with New York and Illinois,” Elliston said.

The Trump administration is targeting certain jurisdictions to enforce its immigration policies. For example, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Department of Justice filed lawsuits against Illinois and New York because of alleged resistance to the Trump administration.

“This is a new DOJ,” Bondi said during a recent news conference. “We sued Illinois. New York did not listen, now you’re next.”

Acting Prince George’s County Executive Tara Jackson did not respond to a request to comment on Elliston’s comments on a federal investigation.

“Howard County Government does not comment on current or pending litigation,” a Howard County spokesperson said in a statement.

A search for people in the country illegally

A FOX45 News reporter rode along with ICE agents as they looked for people in the country illegally.

ICE agents that day pulled over a man they incorrectly believed was the suspect they were targeting. When he refused to get out of the car, ICE agents smashed his window and pulled him out for arrest. Agents determined that he was in the country illegally.

“We did an interview with him through the window and basically determined that he was here unlawfully,” Elliston said. “We asked him several times to get out of the vehicle which he refused. ICE policy allows us in that case to smash the window and pull him out.”

At another location, ICE and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives interviewed people and found the suspect’s mother, who told them her son doesn’t live there. She did not say where he might be.

However, agents discovered that one man at the location was in the country illegally and arrested him. Both he and the other man arrested during the traffic stop are considered to be “collaterals,” or people who are arrested for their immigration status but aren’t the targets of the investigation.

‘Collateral’ arrests

Collateral arrests are part of the new Trump administration’s policy for immigration enforcement. Before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, undocumented immigrants found during arrests of investigative targets were typically not detained.

That is no longer the case.

“The handcuffs are off,” Elliston said. “Before, it was: you had to meet certain criteria to be arrested. Now, we are enforcing the law written by Congress. If you’re illegally here and we come across you, you’re going to get arrested.”

Violent criminals are still the primary focus, Elliston said. Last fiscal year, Baltimore field office agents arrested 175 sex offenders, and as of Feb. 18, arrested 80 sex offenders, he said.

“We’re going to try and hit 200 this year,” Elliston said. “We’ve also arrested almost 40 gang members this year. So yeah, we’re still fully in public safety, national security.”

He added that jurisdictions that don’t cooperate could face additional federal retaliation

“We don’t really get involved in the funding, but I will say a county like Prince George’s County that gets hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding is really putting itself at risk,” Elliston said. “We’ve seen this before where the administration has pulled back funding.”

More arrests coming

One suspect targeted was arrested for unspecified gun charges and had previously been deported from the United States. The others arrested Wednesday were taken to Baltimore for immigration paperwork reviews.

The person arrested for gun charges was expected to be turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service for possible federal charges.

The ATF assisted with that arrest because of the firearm. Joseph Persails, the Special Agent in Charge for ATF Baltimore, said the agency assisted the Department of Homeland Security, something not unusual in these situations.

“We’re always happy to help, especially when firearms are involved,” Persails said.

Ultimately, two targeted suspects were not found during this specific enforcement action.

“One is wanted for murder out of Prince George’s County and the other is a gang member,” Elliston said. “We’ll be out all week looking for these guys. We’ll make sure they get into custody.”

Have a news tip? Contact Mikenzie Frost at mbfrost@sbgtv.com.