The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the state of Maryland and Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown on Thursday alleging that the state Community Trust Act obstructs and violates federal immigration enforcement Priority clause the US Constitution. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, asks the court to invalidate the law and permanently ban its enforcement.
The DOJ is bringing four counts, all based on the Supremacy Clause. Two invoke the right of first refusal. First, the Department claims that the law is expressly preempted 8 USC § 1373 And 8 USC § 1644Prevents states from restricting the sharing of immigration status information with federal officials. Second, the DOJ separately argues that the statute is preempted obstacle to the federal enforcement system. The remaining counts are based on the Doctrine of interstate immunityalleging that the law (1) unlawfully regulates the federal government by requiring judicial warrants that federal law does not require for arrests of civilian immigrants and (2) discriminates against them by singling out federal immigration authorities.
The complaint is based on Arizona v. United Stateswhere the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 upheld the federal government’s preeminent authority over immigration. The DOJ says that the law has already had operational consequences, pointing to cases in which facilities declined to transfer individuals to federal custody in response to detainees.
This came into force this year as an emergency law Community Trust ActRestricts when state and local officials may cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Correctional facilities may not notify federal authorities of a person’s detention, detain a person beyond their release, or turn them over to immigration officials without a valid court order or order. Law enforcement officers are specifically prohibited from disclosing information collected in the course of their duties unless required by a valid court order.
The filing is the latest in a campaign by the Civil Division, led by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, targeting so-called sanctuary laws in states including Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois and New York. In June 2025, the DOJ sued New York over its Protect Our Courts Act on similar grounds. The campaign is met with resistance. Last month, a federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s challenge to a sanctuary city ordinance in Los Angeles, saying it neither expressly precludes nor violates intergovernmental immunity because it governs only the conduct of city officials and not the federal government.
Deputy Attorney General Stanley Woodward warned Sanctuary jurisdictions Silence voters when they protect non-citizens from federal enforcement. Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, who heads the Civil Division, said the DOJ is questioning Maryland’s efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement. Brown’s office declined to comment.
