Justice Department sues Maryland over sanctuary immigration law
The Justice Department filed suit on Wednesday against Maryland and state Attorney General Anthony Brown seeking to invalidate the Community Trust Act, which bars local police and jails from informally cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The law restricts local agencies from prolonging detention for immigration purposes and from sharing information with federal immigration authorities.
The DOJ alleges Maryland has declined to transfer people in custody to federal agents even after ICE issues a detainer — a request that a jail hold someone up to 48 hours past their scheduled release so agents can take custody. The department asks the court to declare the law unconstitutional as an obstruction of federal immigration enforcement and to permanently block its enforcement.
The suit follows similar DOJ actions against more than a dozen states and localities, including New York and Illinois. The recurring legal question is where the Tenth Amendment line falls: states cannot be compelled to carry out federal immigration enforcement, but the government argues that affirmatively shielding information and refusing transfers crosses into obstruction. How courts weigh that distinction will shape whether sanctuary statutes survive.