Maryland sheriffs sue state over new immigration law they call dangerous

Several sheriffs in Maryland are filing a lawsuit against the governor, the state and the attorney general over recent immigration legislation.

The Community Trust Act, passed as emergency legislation, stops law enforcement from holding someone for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a warrant, except for felony crimes and sex offenders.

Under the act, authorities are also barred from asking those detained in local jails about their immigration status.

The Community Trust Act was fast-tracked through Maryland’s General Assembly and was passed on the final day of the legislative session.

On Wednesday, 17 out of the 24 sheriffs in Maryland held a press conference in Annapolis to announce a lawsuit against the bill.

“We have filed a formal federal lawsuit to halt this unconstitutional overreach before it can do irreparable damage to the communities,” Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform, an advocacy group, filed the class-action lawsuit on behalf of Maryland sheriffs against the bill.

“By prohibiting these sheriffs from working with federal immigration authorities, they have kneecapped these sheriffs,” said Dale Wilcox, the executive director and general counsel at FAIR.

Pushback against the Community Trust Act

Patty Morin joined the law enforcement officials in the fight against the Community Trust Act. Her daughter, Rachel Morin, was murdered in 2023 by an undocumented immigrant.

“Seven days ago, [it] would have been her 40th birthday,” Patty Morin said. “She was raped, brutally beaten, murdered, stuffed into a drainpipe. You, by passing this law, are punishing us. You are allowing criminals to come to have a safe harbor in our state.”

Critics believe the bill restricts sheriffs’ ability to work with federal partners to remove criminals from communities and limits cooperation with ICE regarding people in custody suspected of immigration violations.

“The state of Maryland is not entitled to ignore federal law simply because it doesn’t like it,” said Matt O’Brien, executive director of FAIR and a former assistant immigration judge.

Gahler argued that the ban will unintentionally result in some violent offenders being let go.

“Doing away with 287(g) has been sold by some legislators as the solution to get ICE out of Maryland,” Gahler said. “The opposite will happen. You will still see ICE, probably in greater numbers, doing the job they are lawfully required to do.”

Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees told CBS News Baltimore that the legislation poses issues because of the way it was passed, which pits the sheriffs against the federal government.

DeWees believes it will also create a public safety concern within every community.

“We will be releasing individuals back into our community that we know immigration enforcement wants,” DeWees said.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore responds

Moore said that he will not veto the legislation.

“We will not let untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable ICE agents deputize our law enforcement officers to do immigration work,” Moore said.

The governor has also acknowledged that there were issues with the legislation to be worked out in the next legislative session.

Moore’s office stated that the governor has been clear.

“Maryland will always work with federal law enforcement when it makes Marylanders safer, but we will not let untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable ICE agents deputize local law enforcement officers to do federal immigration work,” Moore’s office wrote. “We respect the role sheriffs play in protecting their communities, and we recognize that there are implementation questions that will need to be worked through. But the governor’s position has not changed: Maryland can support law enforcement, protect constitutional rights, and keep our communities safe at the same time.”

Maryland sheriffs have also been fighting legislation signed into law in February, ending 287(g) agreements, which allowed law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE by the end of July.

In Maryland, several counties participate in 287(g) agreements, including Allegany, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Washington, Wicomico and St. Mary’s counties.

“You’ll hear this is just not a legal battle. This is not a debate about public policy, but it’s a human battle,” O’Brien.

The law is set to go into effect in early June.

Maryland senator sponsored the Community Trust Act

Maryland Sen. Clarence Lam, who sponsored the Community Trust Act, said the law prevents a workaround by some sheriffs who were still communicating with federal officials despite a previous ban on 287(g) agreements.

“[Some sheriffs said] we’re going to have informal communications, so that when individuals come in for booking, we’re going to let ICE know just by giving them a call,” Lam said. “That is counter to the spirit of the law that we just passed on the ban on 287(g) agreements, and that’s why this bill, the Community Trust Act, was so important to pass this session because it basically closes that loophole that the sheriffs immediately identified as being able to exploit.”

Lam said he is confident that the Community Trust Act will survive a legal challenge.

“We believe this is legal because the state has the authority to be able to put boundaries and protections in place on individuals that are picked up by local law enforcement to be booked,” Lam said.

WJZ is a media partner of The Baltimore Banner. See the original report.