The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is suing Maryland on behalf of 17 sheriffs who oppose the state’s new immigration policy.
In February, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, signed into law SB 245/HB 444, a bill that prohibits state and local jurisdictions from deputizing police officers as immigration agents.
Not surprisingly, the new law was backed by the “woke,” modern American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“The Maryland legislature recently took an important step toward protecting immigrant communities by passing SB 245/HB 444, legislation that bans 287(g) agreements. These agreements allowed local law enforcement to be deputized as ICE agents,” the ACLU of Maryland celebrated after Moore signed the bill into law.
However, the ACLU demanded more in the form of the so-called Community Trust Act (CTA).
According to the ACLU, the CTA “requires a judicial warrant to detain someone for ICE or to prolong detention for transfer to ICE” and “stops police and jail staff from proactively notifying ICE or facilitating civil immigration arrests.”
It’s basically the ultimate in sanctuary city policies, and this week Moore announced plans to allow the CTA to move forward, prompting FAIR to file suit on behalf of 17 of Maryland’s 24 sheriffs:
Seventeen Maryland sheriffs. FAIR. And a lawsuit that could change everything. pic.twitter.com/m4ctLHiLjn
— Federation for American Immigration Reform (@FAIRImmigration) May 29, 2026
“These 17 plaintiffs represent 70 percent of Maryland’s county sheriffs,” FAIR’s executive director and general counsel, Dale L. Wilcox, wrote in a Fox News op-ed published Wednesday. “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,” he added.
He and the sheriffs argue the new law is a sanctuary city policy that endangers the lives of local residents. Wilcox further notes that this is the exact reason that he decided to take their case.
“I decided to take this case because the human cost of sanctuary policies is no longer abstract; it is measured in the shattered lives of American families,” he wrote.
As proof, he pointed to Angel parents like Patty Morin, Jim Walden, and Tammy Nobles — all of whom were present during a recent FAIR press conference announcing the suit.
“Patty’s 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,” Wilcox wrote for Fox News.
“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,” he added.
View the full presser below:
Press Conference: FAIR, 17 Maryland Sheriffs Sue to Stop State’s New Sanctuary Law https://t.co/Vz0bJUZuAI
— Federation for American Immigration Reform (@FAIRImmigration) May 27, 2026
“We don’t want to be here today, but we’re here because this nonsense up here in Annapolis, Maryland, has to stop,” Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said during the presser. “They have overstepped their boundaries.”
Sheriffs Jeff Gahler of Harford County, Jim DeWees from Carroll County, and Mike Lewis from Wicomico County were some of the sheriffs on hand for the announcement in Annapolis.
“We’re no longer allowed to communicate with immigration officials, ICE. What about drug enforcement? Do we protect drug offenders and drug traffickers?” Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees added. “And we pass legislation then to stop us or stop us from communicating with DEA? When does it actually stop?”
The actual lawsuit seeks to stop the CTA from moving forward on the grounds that it “forces Plaintiffs into an impossible and unconstitutional position.”
“The Act prohibits Plaintiffs and their deputies and correctional staff from honoring federal immigration detainers, notifying federal authorities that a removable alien is in custody, transferring custody to [ICE], or providing information obtained in the course of official duties – unless a narrow ‘judicial warrant’ is presented,” the lawsuit states, according to station WJLA.
FAIR deputy executive director Matthew O’Brien told the station that the law is “quite possibly unconstitutional legislation that interferes with ICE completing its mission.”
ICE is short for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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