Justice Department sues Maryland over immigration policies

The United States Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming Maryland and Attorney General Anthony Brown were in violation of federal immigration law.

The lawsuit, one of several President Donald Trump’s administration has brought against Democratic-led states and cities, takes issue with the newly passed Community Trust Act.

That law, which the Maryland legislature passed overwhelmingly earlier this year, broadly prohibits state law enforcement from holding individuals for U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement without a judicial warrant. It also limits how much local authorities can communicate with ICE.

The Justice Department is seeking to have federal courts overturn the Community Trust Act, arguing it violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

“When sanctuary jurisdictions enact laws to shield illegal aliens from federal law enforcement, it is not merely federal law that is violated, but the voices of everyday American voters silenced,” Associate U.S. Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement. “Today’s suit proves that this Department will never stand for such lawless action from blue state leaders.”

A spokesperson for Brown’s office declined to comment.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore allowed the Community Trust Act to become law without his signature, saying that the bill posed “real implementation issues.”

Moore spokesperson Rhyan Lake had harsh words for Trump but said the state’s law enforcement agencies would still cooperate with the federal government when warranted.

“While Trump’s ICE has ripped mothers out of cars and detained five-year-olds, Maryland’s law allows our law enforcement to continue working with federal officers to get violent offenders off our streets, remain focused on the work that has helped drive historic reductions in violent crime, and protect fundamental civil rights,” Lake said in a statement.

The Community Trust Act does not wholesale prohibit law enforcement from working with ICE, and Brown issued guidance earlier this year outlining the circumstances where state and local authorities are required to work with federal immigration agents.

While the Trump administration has made a habit of targeting Democratic-led states and cities, Thursday’s court filing marks an escalation in the president’s feud with Maryland.

Brown has sued the Trump administration 65 times and Moore has regularly sparred with Trump in the news and on social media.

The lawsuit accuses Maryland of being a so-called “sanctuary state” because of laws the Democratic super-majority in the legislature put forward. Another bill banning local and state law enforcement agencies from entering into formal cooperation agreements with ICE also passed earlier this year.

Republican leaders warned of possible federal retaliation earlier this year when the General Assembly was considering the measures.

While similar bills had failed in recent years, strategies to combat against what Democratic leaders saw as an abuse of federal powers became a priority this most recent legislative session after ICE and U.S. Border Patrol descended upon Minneapolis.

Those operations led to massive unrest and the death of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents.