Maryland sheriffs should not be handcuffed by reckless sanctuary politics

Last week, my organization, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of 17 of Maryland’s 24 sheriffs challenging the state’s newly enacted "Community Trust Act."

This so-called "trust" legislation is nothing less than a dangerous sanctuary mandate that deliberately obstructs cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. We decided to represent these sheriffs because they are on the front lines of public safety, sworn to uphold both the state and federal constitutions, yet they have now been placed in an impossible constitutional bind by Annapolis politicians.

These 17 plaintiffs represent 70 percent of Maryland’s county sheriffs. They came to us not seeking political gain but relief from a law that handcuffs their ability to protect their communities. As executive director and general counsel of FAIR, an organization dedicated to immigration policies that serve America’s national interest, I could not stand by while dedicated officers are ordered to release criminal illegal aliens back into neighborhoods where they pose ongoing threats.

The ironically named "Community Trust Act" prohibits or severely restricts local correctional facilities from honoring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers, sharing critical information with federal authorities, or detaining removable criminal aliens beyond their scheduled release — except in the narrowest of circumstances. This is not "community trust." The law demands judicial warrants for routine cooperation that federal law already authorizes. It is state-mandated obstruction that turns Maryland into what the sheriffs rightly call an "ultra-sanctuary" state.

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I decided to take this case because the human cost of sanctuary policies is no longer abstract; it is measured in the shattered lives of American families. At our press conference, we stood alongside Angel parents Patty Morin, Jim Walden and Tammy Nobles. Patty’s daughter Rachel was brutally raped, beaten, and murdered in 2023, and her body was stuffed into a drainpipe by an illegal alien who had evaded removal thanks in part to lax enforcement and sanctuary protections. Lance Cpl. James (Jimmie) Walden III was killed in 2017 when the motorcycle he was riding was struck by a speeding Mexican national. Tammy lost her daughter Kayla to similar preventable violence. These tragedies were not inevitable. They resulted from policies that prioritize illegal aliens over law-abiding citizens.

Sanctuary laws have failed repeatedly across the country. From New York to California to Chicago, jurisdictions that limit cooperation with ICE have seen surges in crimes committed by individuals who should have been deported long ago. Repeat offenders — convicted of assault, drug trafficking, sexual abuse, and homicide — are released back into communities because local police are prohibited from notifying or assisting what should be federal partners. The data is clear: When cooperation ends, lawlessness increases. Innocent Americans pay with their lives. Maryland is now doubling down on this failed experiment despite the evidence and despite the pleas of its own sheriffs.

This lawsuit is about more than Maryland. It is important for all Americans to oppose sanctuary laws because immigration enforcement is a national responsibility, not a local option. The Constitution’s Supremacy Clause ensures that federal law prevails in areas of national authority like immigration. States cannot nullify federal statutes or commandeer local officers to undermine them. When one state creates safe havens for criminal aliens, it affects every American through increased crime, strained resources, higher taxes, and an eroded rule of law. Criminals cross state lines, and we cannot allow a patchwork of resistance that renders federal immigration policy meaningless.

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Our sheriffs are not asking for new powers. They simply want to do their jobs without fear of state punishment for complying with federal law. The act forces them to choose between violating their oaths or facing state penalties. By interfering, Maryland is not only endangering its residents but inviting federal preemption challenges.

FAIR has long documented the failures of sanctuary policies. Law-abiding, legal immigrants and citizens alike suffer when criminals are shielded. Police cannot effectively combat gangs, drugs, or human trafficking without full access to immigration databases and detainer authority. The notion that restricting cooperation somehow makes communities safer defies both logic and experience.

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Gov. Wes Moore allowed the bill to become law without his signature, citing implementation concerns yet refusing to veto it. Sheriffs and citizens deserve better than half-measures and virtue signaling. Public safety demands full enforcement of immigration laws, secure borders, and cooperation at every level of government.

This fight transcends partisan lines. It is about whether we remain a nation of laws or descend into selective enforcement that favors lawbreakers. FAIR stands shoulder-to-shoulder with these Maryland sheriffs because their battle is America’s battle. We will pursue every legal avenue to strike down this dangerous law and restore the ability of law enforcement to keep criminal illegal aliens off our streets.

Americans everywhere should watch Maryland closely. If sanctuary ideology prevails here, it will spread. The stakes are innocent lives — daughters, sons, neighbors — who deserve protection, not political experiments. 

We filed this suit to defend the rule of law, honor the lives of innocent victims like Rachel, Jimmie and Kayla, and ensure that sheriffs can fulfill their sacred duty. For Maryland and for the nation, this reckless policy must be stopped.