With President Donald Trump’s long-promised deportations underway, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is making it clear Baltimore is “not a sanctuary city.”

“We have to be reminded that Baltimore is not a sanctuary city. It’s a very important distinction,” Scott said, noting he does not use the term because it is politically charged and leads to too much focus on what happens to people in detention facilities — which the city does not operate.

Scott’s statement doesn’t mean city police will start doing the work of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents — especially as Trump border czar Tom Homan announced the beginning of “targeted enforcement operations” on Tuesday. The mayor said reducing violence overall will remain the city’s top priority.

“[Baltimore Police] will not be focused on enforcing federal immigration law. The city won’t be asking these residents about their immigration status,” Scott said, referring to people accused of crimes.

At Wednesday’s news conference, a clear majority of reporters’ questions for Scott focused on immigration. Scott maintains the city’s approach of fighting crime and supporting its police officers will not change, but said he will continuously monitor the actions of the Trump administration and act to “protect” Baltimore residents if needed.

“We will allow our focus to be on the folks that are doing the work reducing violence across the City of Baltimore,” Scott said. “But if you break the law, as I’ve said before, I don’t care where you’re from.”

Scott also said all residents “should be concerned” about the Trump executive order seeking to challenge birthright citizenship for the children of some illegal immigrants. The order prompted quick lawsuits from 22 Democratic attorneys general, who argued Trump cannot legally end birthright citizenship as established by the 14th Amendment.

Asked about the Trump administration’s threat to prosecute state and local officials who do not cooperate with ICE on deporting illegal immigrants, Scott invoked civil rights leaders and said he would not be intimidated.

“[Prosecution] is not something that scares me at all,” Scott said. “When you think about some of the biggest freedom fighters in the world — whether it be Dr. King, whether it be Malcolm X, whether it be Rosa Parks — all of those folks were put in jail for … doing the right thing.”

A Department of Justice memo released Wednesday would prohibit “state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests.”

Have a news tip? Contact Carson Swick at cswick@baltsun.com.