Last week, my organization, the Federation for American (FAIR), filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of 17 of Marylands 24 sheriffs challenging the states newly enacted “Community Trust Act.”
This so-called “trust” 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 Marylands 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 Americas 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 Enforcement (ICE) detainers, sharing critical information with federal authorities, or detaining removable criminal aliens beyond their scheduled release â 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.
I decided to take this case because the 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. Pattys 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.
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 â convicted of assault, drug trafficking, sexual abuse, and homicide â 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 Constitutions 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.
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 fo
