ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) — After the confetti was cleaned up and the balloons were popped, the pomp and circumstance of celebrating the end of the 2026 legislative session subsided leaving reality to set in – lawmakers in Maryland passed several bills aimed at immigration and juvenile justice.
The Community Trust Act seeks to further limit ICE cooperation in Maryland, building on previous legislation that banned formal 287(g) agreements in the state. Supporters, including Senate President Bill Ferguson, House Speaker Joseline Pena-Melnyk, and other Democrats, describe it as a due process bill intended to protect immigrant communities.
“We ensured that our immigrant communities have due process by curtailing engagement with an increasingly lawless ICE and prohibiting masking for law enforcement,” Ferguson said Tuesday.
However, critics, including Republicans in both legislative chambers, argued that the act hinders law enforcement’s ability to protect the public.
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SB 791 requires a judicial warrant in order for ICE to compel action from the state. The legislation also outlines that law enforcement can notify ICE of someone who is detained in a correctional facility if that person has been convicted of a felony, a registered sex offender, served between 12 and 18 months in a state prison, or committed an offense in another state that resulted in at least five years served in prison.
However, Sen. Justin Ready, a Republican, argued not every offense that’s serious is a felony, and the legislation doesn’t go far enough to protect public safety.
“If ICE picks up a repeat drunk driver that’s been convicted multiple times of drunk driving and a whole long rap sheet, but no convicted felonies, they can’t call ICE,” Ready said.
The legislation could tee up a clash with the Trump Administration as immigration enforcement remains a hallmark of Trump’s second term in office.
Federal dollars could be at risk if the federal government determines the bill to be “out of compliance with federal laws,” according to the bill’s fiscal note. The possibility of losing federal dollars doesn’t come as a concern to Sen. Will Smith, D-Montgomery County, who chairs the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.
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“No more so than any other action that the federal government or under this administration is looking to take against states that move to protect the communities, especially in these circumstances,” Smith said when asked by FOX45 News if he’s concerned about federal dollars being at risk. “I think it’s important that we vote for our values to protect everyone in the state.”
Speaker Pena-Melnyk echoed a similar sentiment after the House adjourned Monday night, arguing the federal government has already pulled funding from Maryland.
“We are being punished for being a Democratic state,” she claimed.
It’s not immediately clear where Gov. Wes Moore stands on the bill, but he indicated at least some support.
“I believe we have to follow due process,” he said during an interview Monday evening on Maryland Public Television.
Gov. Moore did not do an interview with FOX45 News on the final day of session but told MPT cooperation with the federal government will remain – especially when dealing with violent offenders.
“But what we are not going to do is allow our local jurisdictions to have their law enforcement deputies to be able to join an agency that is arresting five-year-olds,” he said. “That does not make sense. And that’s really what we’re that’s the lines that we’re trying to guard against.”
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Republicans weren’t the only ones against the legislation. In a statement provided to FOX45 News, Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees was clear about his opposition to the effort, and urged Gov. Moore to veto the legislation.
“This is very typical of the super majority in Annapolis, to bring out legislation at the 11th hour where no one can contest it and force it down everyone’s throat,” DeWees said via statement.
While critics of the immigration bill argued public safety would now be at risk, it wasn’t the only time the issue of safety came up during session.
The Youth Charging Reform Act cleared the General Assembly as well after advocates had pushed for years in Annapolis. If signed into law, the legislation would end the automatic charging of 16- and 17-year-olds who are facing certain offenses, including first degree assault, as well as some drug and weapons charges, as adults; instead, the legislation starts the cases in the juvenile court system.
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Supporters of the bill argue that most cases end up in the juvenile system regardless, and therefore, it makes sense to start them in the Department of Juvenile Services.
“They’re already ingesting that work anyway; they’re already doing that workload anyway,” Sen. Will Smith previously told FOX45 News. “We’re just wasting time and money by sending them to the adult system first.”
However, several top prosecutors have come out against the legislation, including Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.
“DJS is not equipped to deal with these increased violent offenders, and the legislature should defer the implementation of this bill until the programs are in place,” McCarthy said.
During an interview on FOX45 News In Depth with Mikenzie Frost, Senate President Bill Ferguson said he hopes “that the state’s attorneys are wrong.”
“If there are changes that have to be made in the future, of course we will make them,” he added.
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Gov. Moore has yet to sign the bill into law but has signaled support.
“I think the legislature, you know, really understood the guidelines that I had that we want to make sure we’re increasing accountability and opportunity,” Gov. Wes Moore said previously when asked about the bill. “I think this is, it feels like the right landing spot that they came to.”
Follow Political Reporter Mikenzie Frost on X and Facebook. Send tips to mbfrost@sbgtv.com.
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