Maryland’s Black state lawmakers unveiled a sweeping agenda on Thursday that aims to curb immigration enforcement, ensure that children accused of crimes are held more often in youth custody, promote homeownership and protect health care access.

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland is believed to be the largest and oldest caucus of its kind in the nation. But Del. N. Scott Phillips, the new caucus chair, said the group needs to be measured by its success in pushing important policy priorities.

“What we present is not a wish list,” Phillips, a Baltimore County Democrat, said at a news conference. “It is a unified legislative agenda grounded in community and informed by policy expertise.”

He added: “Our focus is working together collaboratively and intentionally to deliver results for Black Marylanders and for all Marylanders.”

The Black caucus is backing legislation that is moving swiftly through the legislature that bans local jails from entering into enforcement agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as 287(g).

Another caucus-backed bill would move more traffic violations from primary offenses — that a police officer can pull over a car for — to secondary offenses, which can only be charged after a driver already is pulled over.

Sen. Charles Sydnor, one of the bill’s sponsors, said traffic stops can land drivers in jail, where they could be screened for immigration enforcement in counties that cooperate with ICE.

“When you have pretextual traffic stops and people being stopped for petty minor offenses, they’re being pipelined into the system so that they can then be used in those 287(g) programs,” said Sydnor, a Baltimore County Democrat.

The caucus also is pushing for a bill that would limit the circumstances in which children accused of crimes are automatically charged in adult court.

The legislation has stalled in past years, but lawmakers and advocates are hopeful that they’ll prevail, noting that children housed in adult jails end up worse off because they are kept in restricted custody without access to school and services.

“All we’re asking for is to have a judge balance and weigh those decisions and make an informed decision to where the child should go,” said Del. Sandy Bartlett, an Anne Arundel County Democrat and chair of the House Judiciary Committee. “We are paying more money for worse outcomes for the child and for public safety.”

Other bills supported by the caucus aim to combat racial bias in home appraisals, make it easier for homes to be conveyed after a homeowner dies, enable the hiring of more school psychologists, protect access to Medicaid, and create a path for appeals when local city or county districts are drawn in a racially discriminatory manner.

One hot topic that is not on the caucus priority list: congressional redistricting.

The House of Delegates approved a new map of districts that could give Democrats a chance at sweeping all eight seats, but the measure has been tied up in the state Senate. Gov. Wes Moore, the nation’s only Black governor, made an appeal to the Senate to vote on the measure during his State of the State speech Wednesday.

It appears that members of the Black caucus disagree on the issue, based on Phillips’ careful answer.

“In this room, we focus on consensus,” Phillips said. “And so where there is no consensus, you will not hear from us on a particular issue.”