Justice Department sues Maryland over law it says violates Supremacy Clause

State’s Community Trust Act took effect May 31

The Justice Department’s Civil Division filed the lawsuit in federal court on Thursday, arguing that Maryland’s Community Trust Act unlawfully interferes with the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration law. Federal lawyers said in the complaint that the state’s prohibitions on cooperation with immigration agencies have “endangered public safety, resulting in criminals being released into Maryland rather than turned over to immigration authorities for removal from the United States, as required by Congress.”

“The challenged laws are not a mere passive effort to avoid providing state or local resources to federal officials but rather are an active and deliberate effort to obstruct federal immigration enforcement,” the complaint stated.

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement that “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.”

The Community Trust Act took effect immediately on May 31, 2026, after passing the Maryland General Assembly. The law limits how local law enforcement agencies in Maryland can cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Opponents of the law have criticized it as permitting the harboring of undocumented migrants. Advocates for the law argue such policies are needed to create safe communities by reducing barriers that hinder immigrants from communicating with law enforcement.

The Maryland Freedom Caucus, a group of Republican state delegates, celebrated the lawsuit’s announcement in a Thursday statement, saying it is challenging “Maryland’s dangerous penchant for favoring noncitizens over lawful Marylanders.”

The lawsuit is part of a broader legal campaign by the Trump administration against so-called sanctuary policies. The Justice Department has filed about 20 lawsuits against states, counties, and cities — mostly led by Democrats — with laws or policies limiting cooperation with immigration authorities.

Under a Trump executive order, the Justice Department has identified dozens of jurisdictions with sanctuary laws. The administration has also sought to end humanitarian protections for migrants from crisis-hit countries as part of its efforts to remove obstacles to mass deportation, drawing opposition from civil and human rights advocates.