On February 19, Associate Policy Director Sarah Sample submitted a letter of information to the Judicial Proceedings Committee on SB 977 – State and Local Agencies – Enforcement of Federal Immigration Law – Restrictions on Access to Information (Maryland Data Privacy Act).
This bill aims to protect the private information of an individual that is not legally required to be shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or any other federal agency.
The intersections of federal, state, and local immigration laws have been the subject of extended and nuanced debate across governments and the courts. The areas of concern cover constitutionality, enforcement, information handling, sanctuary policies, and court procedure to name just a few. Under more common circumstances, counties can appreciate that the letter of the law will not always foresee perfectly the contradiction, consequences, and potential new liabilities additional requirements can provoke in the courts. Unfortunately, the reality of the current political and policy climate around immigration presents a high likelihood that federal and State agencies are proactively and aggressively intending to hold even good faith actors accountable for errors. Any faltering, intentional or not, as these policies are rapidly evolving and competing has the potential to result in increased claims and significant disruption to local government workforces and functions.
The question of how best to ensure that privacy is maintained for all employees and detainees of a local government is an important one to address. Due to the current and shifting guidance around immigration enforcement laws and regulations, SB 977 − without clarification − has the potential to further complicate an already difficult situation and fall short of its overall goal.
SB 977 was heard in the opposite chamber, the Judiciary Committee, on March 26. MACo submitted a letter of information on this bill.
More on MACo’s Advocacy:
