Maryland is not on the federal Department of Justice’s official list of sanctuary jurisdictions, so the short answer to whether Maryland is a sanctuary state is no in the formal sense.1United States Department of Justice. Justice Department Publishes List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions In practice, though, state law sharply limits how Maryland police and jails help with federal civil immigration enforcement, and several counties and cities go further on their own. The label is missing; much of the substance is there.
What Sanctuary Means in Practice
There is no federal statute defining a “sanctuary jurisdiction.” The term describes any state or locality that limits how much its employees assist federal immigration authorities with civil deportation work. The common threads are that local police don’t ask about immigration status during routine encounters, jails won’t hold someone past their release date on an informal ICE request, and agencies won’t share personal data without a court-issued warrant.
The civil-versus-criminal distinction is where these policies live. A criminal warrant is signed by a judge after a probable cause review. An ICE detainer is an administrative request signed by an ICE officer, with no judicial sign-off. Maryland’s rules draw a line right there: judicial warrants are honored; detainers alone generally are not.
What Maryland Law Restricts
The core framework sits in Section 5-104 of Maryland’s Criminal Procedure Article, most recently amended by the Maryland Values Act (HB 1222) in 2025.2Maryland General Assembly. Public Safety – Immigration Enforcement (Maryland Values Act) During regular police functions, a Maryland law enforcement officer may not:
- Ask about immigration status during a stop, search, or arrest, unless the information is directly relevant to a criminal investigation.
- Extend a detention to investigate someone’s citizenship or immigration status, or based on suspicion of a civil immigration violation.
- Transfer a person to federal immigration authorities unless federal law requires it.
Those restrictions don’t apply to routine booking at a correctional facility, and they don’t stop officers from sharing information that is material to an active criminal case. The Attorney General is required to publish guidance for the public and state agencies on their obligations under the law.2Maryland General Assembly. Public Safety – Immigration Enforcement (Maryland Values Act)
Where Maryland Still Cooperates
The protections have a real limit. The Maryland Values Act carved out a category called a “covered individual,” defined in Section 9-309 of the Correctional Services Article. For someone in that category, the rules invert. If federal immigration authorities request it, state and local correctional facilities must provide notice of the person’s upcoming release within 48 hours and must transfer the person to federal custody, so long as the transfer does not extend the person’s time in jail past their scheduled release date.2Maryland General Assembly. Public Safety – Immigration Enforcement (Maryland Values Act)
The same rule reaches police outside correctional facilities. During regular duties, if an officer encounters a covered individual and receives a federal request, the officer must provide release notice and facilitate the transfer under the same conditions.2Maryland General Assembly. Public Safety – Immigration Enforcement (Maryland Values Act) The upshot: Maryland limits routine immigration enforcement but cooperates when someone meets the covered individual threshold.
Driver Records and MVA Data
Maryland’s Driver Privacy Act (HB 23) became law in 2021 after the legislature overrode a gubernatorial veto. It bars federal immigration agents from getting Motor Vehicle Administration data, or personal information from other state agencies, without a warrant from a federal or state court.3Maryland General Assembly. Legislation – HB0023 Before the law, ICE agents could tap Maryland’s MVA database, including roughly seven million driver’s license photos available for facial recognition searches, using generic federal logins and without judicial oversight. The MVA also has to report to the General Assembly on any ICE requests it receives.
No Private Immigration Detention
Maryland’s Dignity Not Detention Act (HB 16), enacted in 2021, prohibits state and local government entities from entering into agreements to house immigration detainees in privately operated detention facilities and required termination of any existing contracts.4Maryland General Assembly. House Bill 16 Enrolled – Correctional Services – Immigration Detention – Prohibition (Dignity Not Detention Act) That closes off one avenue the federal government would otherwise use to expand detention capacity inside the state.
Counties and Cities That Go Further
Several Maryland localities have their own policies, some of them predating the state framework.
Montgomery County
Executive Order 135-19, “Promoting Community Trust,” prohibits any county agent or department from asking about or investigating a person’s citizenship or immigration status unless a court order specifically requires it.5Montgomery County Government. Montgomery County Executive Order No. 135-19 Promoting Community Trust County police do not enforce federal immigration law or ask about status during public interactions.
Prince George’s County
Prince George’s County police do not ask about immigration status and do not participate in federal immigration enforcement. The county has stated that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and that county services are available regardless of immigration status.6Prince George’s County, Maryland, USA. Prince George’s County Immigration Resources
Other Cities
Baltimore City, Annapolis, College Park, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, Rockville, and Takoma Park have also been identified as jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The specifics differ by place, but the direction is the same: local resources for local public safety, not for civil immigration operations.
Federal Pushback
The federal government’s main lever has been grant money. Under both Trump administrations, the DOJ has tried to condition law enforcement grants on cooperation with federal immigration authorities. In 2019, the Ninth Circuit ruled the administration could not impose those conditions on sanctuary jurisdictions, and the Supreme Court effectively left that ruling in place when the DOJ dropped its appeal in 2021. The pressure continues. Congress has considered legislation like the Shut Down Sanctuary Policies Act, which would redirect federal law enforcement grants away from non-cooperating jurisdictions.
Baltimore County shows how that pressure plays out on the ground. The county was initially placed on the DOJ’s sanctuary list, then signed a memorandum of understanding with the DOJ and DHS and was removed.7Baltimore County Government. FAQ: Baltimore County’s Removal from US DOJ’s List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions
What This Means for You
Maryland’s laws bind state and local officers. Federal ICE agents operate under different rules. Under the Fourth Amendment, immigration agents generally cannot force their way into your home without a judicial warrant or your voluntary consent. An ICE administrative warrant of removal, signed by an ICE officer rather than a judge, does not authorize entry into a residence.
If you’re placed in removal proceedings, federal law gives you the right to be represented by an attorney, but the government will not pay for one; you choose and hire your own lawyer.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1362 – Right to Counsel Nonprofit legal aid organizations provide free or low-cost representation in some immigration matters.
On the local side, because Maryland police are barred from asking about immigration status during routine encounters, residents who witness or experience crimes can contact police without that call triggering an immigration inquiry. Local agencies can also certify U-visa applications for immigrant crime victims, though certification is discretionary and policies differ by department.