Trump administration sued over warrantless ICE arrests in Maryland

Four Maryland residents and the advocacy group We Are CASA filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday evening challenging a wave of warrantless immigration arrests in the state, alleging federal agents are “indiscriminately stopping and arresting” people they perceive to be Black and brown immigrants.

They are asking a judge to issue a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s practice of making immigration arrests without a warrant. Plaintiffs are also seeking class action status.

The immigrant rights group filed the suit with Samuel Guzmán, a U.S. citizen who lives in Anne Arundel County, as well as three Maryland residents who are identified by their initials and live in Prince George’s, Wicomico and Montgomery counties.

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The new suit comes on the heels of a surge of ICE arrests in Maryland and Virginia. From Aug. 1-14, ICE conducted a two-week surge dubbed “Operation Safe Community,” resulting in 1,328 arrests across the two states.

An analysis by The Banner revealed the detentions marked the highest 14-day arrest total in the two states since at least October 2022. The sweeps prompted widespread fear among immigrant communities and frustration from state lawmakers and Gov. Wes Moore’s office, which said it did not receive advance notice of the operation.

Trump administration officials have continued to back agents’ tactics, saying a lack of cooperation from local officials has forced officers into communities.

“While sanctuary politicians in Virginia and Maryland keep putting the needs of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people, the Trump Administration will always put American citizens first,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement following the August operation. “By arresting and removing illegal aliens from our communities, we will make America safe again.”

The 56-page complaint details “aggressive” enforcement tactics since January 2025, including ICE agents in unmarked cars surrounding people driving to work or dropping kids off at school, smashing car windows, and drawing weapons during vehicle stops. In many cases, they arrest people “without asking any questions at all,” according to the complaint.

Guzmán was getting coffee at a 7-Eleven in June when several unmarked SUVs blocked the parking lot exits, according to the suit. Agents then shoved him against his car, seized his phone, wallet and keys, and handcuffed him. Guzmán repeatedly told agents he was born in the U.S. as they forced him into their truck, according to the suit.

One replied, “if you are a U.S. citizen, why don’t you speak better English?” according to the suit.

He was handcuffed for more than 90 minutes, but once federal agents reviewed his documentation, he was returned to his car with no explanation, according to the suit.

The suit in Maryland follows a similar case brought by a coalition of immigrant and civil rights advocates challenging warrantless arrests in Washington, D.C., under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The law allows federal officers to execute civil immigration arrests without a warrant only if they have probable cause that an individual is in the country unlawfully and is likely to escape before a warrant can be issued.

A U.S. District Court judge in December issued a preliminary injunction requiring ICE agents in D.C. to make a pre-arrest individualized determination of a person’s risk of escape before conducting a warrantless arrest. Advocates say the court’s ruling sharply reduced unlawful arrests in the nation’s capital.

On Wednesday, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown joined a 22-state coalition of attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to uphold court orders restricting warrantless immigration arrests.

“Congress established specific legal requirements that ICE must meet before making a warrantless arrest, and those requirements are not optional,” Brown said in a statement. “That is why my Office joined this coalition urging the appeals court to uphold the rule of law and keep those safeguards firmly in place.”

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