In anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump’s new term, some local leaders in Maryland are vowing to push back against his mass deportation plans.

“This election cycle did not go as I had hoped,” Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor said last week. “I want to make clear to our immigrant community that we will use any and all avenues to ensure you know you are safe in Frederick.”

At a press conference dedicated to laying out Frederick’s response to Trump’s administration, O’Connor said he would bar any cooperation with federal immigration agents and proposed the creation of a “Legal Advocacy Fund,” which would use tax dollars to pay undocumented immigrants’ attorney fees.

“Ensuring they have the legal support they need to stand strong and remain in this community they have chosen to call home,” said O’Connor.

Earlier last week, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman voiced similar concerns.

“We will do everything we can to make sure that people have legal representation, people have services and if people are deported we will be providing services to families when their breadwinner leaves,” said Pittman.

Weighing in on how the pushback could unfold, Betsy Smith with the National Police Association said leaders are “not going to be able to ignore federal immigration law.”

Smith warned that a lack of cooperation won’t stop ICE agents from removing undocumented immigrants.

“The federal government will prevail because it is against the law to harbor people who are in this country illegally,” she said, adding that resistance will put Maryland’s public safety and federal funding at risk.

“The federal funding will ultimately dry up and they’re going to be stuck supporting these massive amounts of illegal aliens, including the thousands that are criminals, and it’s going to create an untenable situation for the leadership and for the communities,” said Smith.

Have a news tip? Contact Rebecca Pryor at rpryor@sbgtv.com.