Bill > HB1575

This bill, known as the Community Trust Act, prohibits employees and agents of state and local correctional facilities from engaging in certain immigration enforcement activities, such as inquiring about or investigating an individual's citizenship, immigration status, or place of birth, detaining individuals based on suspicion of civil immigration violations or at the request of federal immigration authorities without a judicial warrant, or transferring individuals to federal immigration authorities without a judicial warrant. It also restricts them from notifying federal immigration authorities about an individual's custody unless required by a court order or judicial warrant, and from coercing or intimidating individuals based on their or others' immigration status. However, these prohibitions do not apply to routine booking procedures or when an individual's immigration status is relevant to a protection under state or federal law or an international treaty, in which case facility staff may inform the individual or allow voluntary disclosure. The bill also applies similar restrictions to law enforcement agents, preventing them from inquiring about immigration status during stops, searches, or arrests, detaining individuals for immigration investigations, or transferring them to federal authorities without a judicial warrant, with exceptions for criminal investigations and when immigration status is relevant to legal protections or treaty requirements. Both correctional facilities and law enforcement agencies are required to adopt policies with penalties for violations, and individuals subjected to violations can seek damages and injunctive relief. A "civil immigration violation" is defined as a violation of federal civil immigration law, and "court order" and "judicial warrant" are specifically defined to exclude documents issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Department of Justice. The bill is set to take effect on October 1, 2026.

Justice

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB1575?ys=2026RS