Maryland sheriffs sue over law limiting cooperation with ICE

Maryland sheriffs sue over law limiting cooperation with ICE

A lawsuit filed in Maryland by a majority of the state’s elected sheriffs seeks to block a new law they say effectively makes Maryland a sanctuary state by limiting cooperation with ICE and federal immigration enforcement.

MARYLAND - A lawsuit filed in Maryland by a majority of the state’s elected sheriffs seeks to block a new law they say effectively makes Maryland a sanctuary state by limiting cooperation with ICE and federal immigration enforcement.

Seventeen of Maryland’s 24 sheriffs joined the civil lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Greenbelt.

The lawsuit targets the Community Trust Act, legislation passed by the General Assembly last month. Gov. Wes Moore supported the measure but allowed it to become law without his signature; the measure limits how sheriffs’ offices, local police agencies and corrections departments can cooperate with ICE, according to the bill's text. 

Supporters say the law is intended to ensure immigrants are not afraid to go to work, report crimes or cooperate with police investigations out of fear of immigration enforcement.

Earlier this year, Maryland lawmakers also banned 287(g) agreements — formal partnerships between local governments and ICE that allow local officers to assist with immigration enforcement, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Some sheriffs vowed to find ways around that prohibition. Now, they are asking a federal judge to block the new law as well.

What they're saying:

"We currently have 11 inmates in our jail, either serving sentences or awaiting trial, who were charged with serious violent crimes," Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. Jenkins told FOX 5 D.C. "Now, because of the new law, a lot of those crimes don’t meet the criteria to be detained for ICE unless there’s a judicial warrant, which we’re not going to get.

"That’s not the way they work," he added. "So unfortunately, we will open our jail doors, and they will be released onto the streets, where ICE will have to come in and make street apprehensions."

(Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

State Sen. Clarence Lam, a Howard County Democrat who authored the legislation, dismissed the lawsuit as politically motivated while speaking to FOX 5. 

"I think this is a political stunt on the part of some of the locally elected sheriffs," Lam said. "They’re really just trying to demonstrate fealty to Donald Trump and ICE by filing this lawsuit. That’s the reason not all sheriffs across the state are filing this lawsuit. I also think this lawsuit has very little merit."

Dig deeper:

Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins argued the new law goes beyond ending the 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement to work with ICE. Jenkins said the measure cuts off nearly all communication between local jails and federal immigration authorities.

"They basically passed a law to kill the 287(g) program," Jenkins said. "Now they’ve taken it a step further to shut down every avenue we have to communicate with ICE."

But Lam disputed that claim, saying the law does not prevent federal immigration enforcement. Instead, he said it adds due process protections before inmates can be transferred to ICE custody.

"The suit incorrectly suggests that we are requiring law enforcement to obstruct federal immigration enforcement. That is not the case," Lam said. "There has to be due process in place to ensure they’re not simply being turned over and taken by ICE."

Local perspective:

At a news conference in Annapolis announcing the lawsuit, Patty Morin — the mother of Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered in Harford County in 2023 by an undocumented immigrant — also spoke in support of the sheriffs’ challenge.

"This happened because the previous administration, the Biden administration, opened our borders and allowed 20 million illegal immigrants into our country," Patty Morin said. "It happened because the state of Maryland had sanctuary policies that welcomed these same people. Now with this law, no law-abiding citizen is safe."