Washington, DC (JK) – The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against the State of Maryland and Attorney General Anthony Brown, seeking to block enforcement of the state’s Community Trust Act.
The DOJ argues the law interferes with the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration laws by restricting cooperation between state and local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration officials. According to the complaint, the law limits compliance with immigration detainers and administrative warrants, restricts information sharing with federal authorities, and makes it more difficult to transfer individuals into federal immigration custody.
Federal officials contend those restrictions violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which gives federal law precedence over conflicting state laws. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the law unconstitutional and prevent Maryland from enforcing it.
The Community Trust Act, enacted earlier this year as Senate Bill 791, requires local law enforcement agencies to recognize judicial warrants rather than administrative immigration warrants in most circumstances and places additional limits on cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement.
The DOJ says the lawsuit is part of a broader effort to challenge state and local policies it believes hinder federal immigration enforcement. According to the department, similar lawsuits have been filed in several other states.
The new federal case follows a separate lawsuit filed in May by sheriffs from 17 Maryland counties, who also argue the Community Trust Act limits their ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and could affect public safety.
As of Friday morning, Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office had not issued a public response to the federal lawsuit.
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