DOJ Sues Maryland Over Immigration Law, Says State Is Obstructing Federal Enforcement

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Thursday against the state of Maryland, arguing that a recently enacted state law unlawfully interferes with the Trump administration’s efforts to enforce federal immigration laws.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court against the state and Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, seeks to block enforcement of the Community Trust Act, which took effect in May after being approved by the Democratic supermajority in the Maryland Legislature.
According to the Justice Department, the law restricts cooperation between local jails, state law enforcement agencies, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making it more difficult for federal officials to carry out immigration enforcement responsibilities.
In the complaint, DOJ attorneys argued that the measure directly conflicts with the federal government's constitutional authority over immigration enforcement.
“The Act’s purpose and effect is to obstruct federal law enforcement and thwart the constitutional obligation of the President of the United States to take care that the immigration laws enacted by Congress are enforced,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in the filing.
The department is asking the court to declare the Community Trust Act unconstitutional and permanently prevent Maryland from enforcing the law.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the administration believes the legislation shields migrants who are in the country illegally from federal immigration authorities while undermining the federal government's authority.
“When sanctuary jurisdictions enact laws to shield illegal aliens from federal law enforcement, it is not merely federal law that is violated, but the voices of everyday American voters silenced,” Woodward said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate also defended the legal challenge, saying the Justice Department intends to continue pursuing action against what it considers sanctuary policies that hinder federal immigration enforcement.
Shumate said the department will keep challenging state and local policies that it believes interfere with the federal government's ability to carry out immigration laws.
Maryland officials pushed back on the administration's claims.
In a statement provided to The Washington Post, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said the state remains willing to cooperate with federal authorities when doing so enhances public safety.
“Maryland will work with the federal government when that coordination makes our people safer,” Moore spokesperson Rhyan Lake said.
Lake argued that the state's law still permits cooperation with federal authorities in cases involving violent offenders while allowing local law enforcement to remain focused on crime reduction efforts and the protection of civil rights.
“While Trump’s ICE has ripped mothers out of cars and detained five-year-olds, Maryland’s law allows our law enforcement to continue working with federal officers to get violent offenders off our streets, remain focused on the work that has helped drive historic reductions in violent crime, and protect fundamental civil rights,” Lake said.
The lawsuit marks another escalation in the ongoing legal battle between the Trump administration and Democratic-led states over immigration policy.
According to the report, the case is the latest in a series of at least two dozen lawsuits the administration has brought against states led by Democrats that have resisted President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.
At the center of the dispute is whether Maryland’s Community Trust Act unlawfully restricts cooperation between state and local authorities and ICE, as the Justice Department contends, or whether the law appropriately defines how Maryland agencies interact with federal immigration officials while continuing to address public safety concerns.
The federal court will now determine whether the Community Trust Act can remain in effect as the administration seeks to invalidate the law under the Constitution.