HB16 creates a “Sanctuary State” by eliminating Immigration Enforcement and prohibits state and local governments from receiving money from the federal government and benefiting from immigration detention facilities.
The Maryland State House of Representatives passed HB16 on April 12, 2021 by vote of 86 to 46. We have assigned pluses to the nays because state or local governments that pursue “sanctuary policy” undermine the U.S. Constitution’s provision, in both Art. I Sec. 8 and Art. 2 Sec. 3, that the federal government shall have the power to establish uniform immigration law and ensure that such law be faithfully executed. Moreover, the 10th Amendment reserves powers to the states that can be used to address the crisis of illegal immigration and provide for their own public safety and this policy does the opposite of that.