A detainer is a request, not a warrant. ICE hold requests carry no legal obligation. Federal courts in multiple circuits have ruled that complying without a judicial warrant can violate the Fourth Amendment.
What Changed on June 1
Governor Wes Moore did not sign the Community Trust Act. He did not veto it. He let thirty days pass, and it became Maryland law on June 1, 2026.
That is not inaction. Governors who disagree with legislation veto it. Governors who agree sign it.
Allowing a bill to lapse into law is a calculated position. Close enough to support to protect the policy. Far enough to preserve political distance.
The law does three things. It bars correctional facility employees from asking anyone about citizenship, immigration status, or place of birth. It bars holding someone at ICE’s request without a valid judicial warrant. And it bars transferring anyone to an ICE facility without that same warrant.
What the Exceptions Are
The law covers people in state and local correctional facilities who have not been convicted of a serious offense. Three categories remain eligible for cooperation with ICE: people with felony convictions, people on the sex offense registry, and people serving sentences of five years or more.
The exceptions matter because critics will claim the law protects dangerous people. It does not. It protects the majority who are in custody for reasons ICE has no business acting on, or who are awaiting trial and have not been convicted of anything.
Why an ICE Detainer Is Not a Warrant
An ICE detainer is a civil administrative form. It asks a local jail to hold someone for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so ICE can pick them up. There is no judge. There is no probable cause finding. There is no court order.
Federal appeals courts in multiple circuits have ruled that local jails holding people solely on warrantless ICE detainer requests violate the Fourth Amendment. Counties have paid settlements because of it.
The constitutional problem is not disputed. The practice continues because there is no federal law requiring warrants.
Maryland’s law simply enforces what the courts have already said: a civil request from a federal agency does not override the constitutional protections that apply to everyone in the state’s custody.
Who Is Challenging It
Local sheriffs are pushing back in court. Their argument is that the law conflicts with federal obligations under 287(g) agreements, which deputize local agencies to enforce immigration law. As of May 2026, 1,864 local agencies have signed 287(g) agreements nationwide, up from 135 in January 2025.
The legal tension is real. Federal law cannot compel states to enforce federal immigration statutes, but it can condition federal funding on cooperation. That is the loophole the administration has used to pressure local agencies, and it is the same pressure Maryland sheriffs are invoking in court.
What It Means Beyond Maryland
Fourteen states have some form of limit on ICE cooperation at jails or in the community. Maryland’s law is among the most direct in linking the requirement to judicial warrants by name.
The warrant requirement is the right standard. Courts have endorsed it. The Fourth Amendment requires it.
The gap is that Congress has never written it into statute. Each state that wants this protection has to pass its own law and then defend it against federal pressure and local resistance.
What You Can Do
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If you are in Maryland, the law is in effect. Anyone taken into state or local custody cannot be asked about their citizenship or held for ICE without a court order, with the exceptions above. The ACLU of Maryland tracks enforcement.
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Demand federal warrant requirements. Maryland passed this because Congress has not. Contact your representatives and tell them that ICE detainer requests must require a judicial warrant. Send a letter through the action above →
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Know which local agencies in your state signed 287(g) agreements. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center maintains a tracker. Whether your county is on the list affects what protections apply where you live.
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Read the Immigration and Detention hub for the full scope of enforcement and state-level resistance since January 2025.