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.MARYLAND LAWMAKERS CLOSER TO PASSING ROADBLOCK TO ICE DEPORTATION EFFORTI decided to take this case because the human cost of sanctuary policies is no longer abstract; it is measured in the shattered lives of Americ...