Justice Department Sues Sanctuary State Maryland

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Maryland over its illegal and highly dangerous sanctuary policies for lawbreaking foreigners.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown in particular has interfered with federal immigration enforcement, according to a July 9 DOJ press release. In spite of federal law prohibiting interference with immigration officers’ activities, Maryland Democrats expend great effort and money in shielding illegal aliens.

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward explained the suit. “Federal immigration officers merely enforce the laws that our Nation’s elected representatives in Congress passed, reflecting the will of We the People,” he said. “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. Today’s suit proves that this Department will never stand for such lawless action from blue state leaders.”

Maryland authorities stubbornly refuse to honor detainer requests for custody of illegal alien criminals. They will even release the criminals rather than hand them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). That, of course, as DHS emphasized, puts citizens of the state at risk.

DOJ Civil Division Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate pointed this out. “The American people are ultimately the ones who suffer when states pass these irresponsible sanctuary policies. The Department of Justice will always defend the Constitution and the rule of law, and it does so today by challenging Maryland’s efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement,” Shumate said.

A 14-year-old Maryland boy, Jefferson Amaya-Ayala, was lured to a park and brutally murdered by four illegal alien MS-13 gang members last fall in College Park, MD.

Last week, all four were indicted on first-degree murder charges. Three of them had prior arrests by law… pic.twitter.com/eWI5ontFm2
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) March 9, 2026

As mentioned, federal law does strictly prohibit sanctuary policies. For instance, 8 U.S. Code § 1324 punishes those who "knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place."

Furthermore, 18 U.S. Code § 111 penalizes anyone who "forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any person designated in section 1114 of this title while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties."

Three more “Maryland Men” can no longer terrorize American communities thanks to a successful investigation by ICE, our federal partners and local law enforcement.

The MS-13 terrorist trio was involved in a racketeering conspiracy involving heinous murders, vicious attempted… pic.twitter.com/iMrGt514oE
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) September 29, 2025

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has instructed his civil division to look into state and local policies that impede or directly defy federal laws. The Maryland lawsuit is one of many such suits in response to these violations.

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