A Maryland sheriff is charging "backdoor amnesty" for unaccompanied minors has led to an increase in gang crime, and warns that without a secure border every county in the nation will become a "border county."
In testimony Tuesday before the
House Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins — whose rural district is about an hour from the nation's capital — said 64 percent of illegal immigrant gang members in his county were unaccompanied minors when they entered the United States.
"Case by case amnesty, back door amnesty, DACA programs and the Dream Act were pushed through by executive order," he said. "Policy shifts by President [Barack] Obama weakened and ruined security communities…"
"It is my belief that if this Congress and the next president do not take action to close and secure the border with Mexico and simply enforce the federal immigration laws that exist, every county in America will become a border county," he added.
Jenkins lauded his department's cooperation with Immigration Customs Enforcement, and said an ICE/Department of Homeland Security effort "has helped rid his county of many illegal aliens."
"We have very effectively built a wall around Frederick County, given the fact that most surrounding jurisdictions do nothing or very little to cooperate with ICE," he said.
But, he said, "open borders, reckless sanctuary policies, and failure to enforce our immigration laws" are impacting "every jurisdiction" around the rest of the country.
"Every single day, more Americans are becoming victims of senseless crimes, being injured and killed by criminal aliens, many are transnational gang members," he said.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.