Fewer issues arising from the 2026 Maryland General Assembly have sparked considerable debate among law enforcement officials as the Community Trust Act. Supporters say the legislation aims to strengthen trust between immigrant communities and local police by restricting certain cooperation with federal immigration authorities. However, many of Maryland’s elected sheriffs argue the law will have the opposite effect, raising public safety concerns and causing conflicts between local agencies and federal law.
Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble is among 16 Maryland sheriffs who have joined a federal lawsuit challenging the legislation. He believes the law restricts communication with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), complicates the transfer of individuals already in custody, and could have broader consequences for local detention centers and law enforcement agencies across the state.
In this interview with the Spy, Gamble explains why he joined the lawsuit, discusses his concerns about the Community Trust Act, and outlines why he believes the issue extends beyond immigration policy to questions of public safety and the relationship between state and federal law.
This video is approximately 6 minutes in length.
7 Responses
Once again, politicians acting without thought, unexpected, albeit logical, consequences from a law hastily drawn up. When things run amuck who will be blamed? Law enforcement, not the lawmakers. Perhaps there should be a list of ‘if this then that’ that lawmakers must compile before passing a bill. Might make them ruminate a bit more. They probably don’t know what ruminate means…..
I’m not sure why we even have sheriffs. One would think a professionally trained apolitical police force would be enough. Unlike Sheriffs, professional law enforcement personnel aren’t loyal to political parties such as that headed by the lawless felon Donald Trump. Virginia Sheriffs are so political that they declare they will not enforce laws they don’t like. America’s most famous sheriff in Arizona was a proud racist fascist. A good Republican, he was charged with multiple crimes. Sheriffs have always been political police since the days of Robin Hood. They are unnecessary.
We’re talking about effective law enforcement here, Mr. Davis. We know that’s not high on the progressive priority list but to Mr. Gamble and most Americans, Republicans and Democrats, it is.
Yes indeed. effective law enforcement – not masked, unidentified paramilitary, minimally trained, inadequately supervised individuals with a record of killing individuals with no accountability. One would think the interest to overcome those problems would be something that all citizens would want.
Sheriffs are accountable to the voters, unlike police chiefs’ politicized appointments. If you think police chiefs aren’t political, bless your heart. Thank God for sheriffs like Joe Gamble, who are willing to speak out against the insanity of sanctuary states like Maryland. You might feel different if you had a family member victimized by a violent illegal immigrant with a criminal background.
I believe in most jurisdiction’s in Maryland the Sheriffs office is in charge of court house security, prisoner transfers from the lock up to the court room, and they serve legal papers on those involved the law suits In The Circuit Court, in some jurisdictions the sherifs office is also responsible for policing our roads and highway, and investigating crimes . I believe what the sheriff in Talbot county is talking about with the objection of the community trust act is to hand over to the federal authorities those undocumented persons who are known criminals and not let them out of jail to cause more injury or property loss to the community, it is safer to hand the criminal over then to hunt the criminal down again which could cause injury and harm to the officers and the public. I don’t believe the sheriff is showing his political badge, he is trying to protect the people he is responsible to serve in the community . The immigration situation is a terrible mess, we all know some one who we interacted with who is a good law abiding person, someone who has a loving family, their children go to school with our children who are American citizens but the immigrant dad or mother don’t have theresources to become a citizen . and the dreamers how many years have they suffered, ? We need to look to our legislature and the Congress and senate in Washington D C and get behind a meaningful bill for immigration . Too many good people are suffering. The sheriff may feel the same , I don’t know his politics but on the release of an undocumented criminal he doesn’t went to put his offices and community in danger . What if the sheriff would release all citizens in his jail that he has arrested for murder , drug selling, burglary auto theft and other high class offenses would that be something the community trust at should cover as well? This is not a Republican or Democrat issue , it’s an American one and we should all have a discussion about it now ! , especially on the 250th anniversary of this nation
I can certainly see where Maryland’s sheriffs are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to informing ICE on the release of individuals in county managed jails. I think its likely that state sheriffs cooperated with ICE during the Obama and Biden Administrations in the process of deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records. I understand there were a total of between 9-10 million deportations and expulsions (turnarounds at the border) during those 2 administrations.
The question/legal question seems to have become how states are being forced to support the Trump Administration’s shotgun operation of sweeping the country of all immigrants regardless of whether or not they have been convicted of crimes. Trump sold the American people on getting rid of the criminals and violent gang members, but Steven Miller has ICE simply pulling people off the streets who have no criminal record at all, much less violent acts.
I’m wondering if sheriffs like Chief Gamble are being forced (threatened with lost funding) to turn over to ICE, people without criminal convictions or immigrants who may have parking tickets or some other minor violation(s). Some us us here in Talbot are aware of long-time immigrants being swept off to prison without any due process at all. Being arrested and not yet convicted doesn’t amount to a criminal record. How many white folks have been arrested and sometimes even convicted of violent crimes and are soon committing those same crimes (or worse)?
Isn’t the job of law enforcement to protect the rights of law abiding immigrants (many of whom live in fear of any civil or legal transgression? I don’t think Sheriff Joe would take any pride whatsoever in seeing immigrants’ families broken up or individuals thrown into barely civilized living conditions as ICE has become infamous for.
How is it even a legitimate idea for Americans to support the deportation of people who struggled to escape political and gang violence in their home countries and send them right back into harm’s way? We did once refuse a shipload of Jewish immigrants seeking to escape Nazi Germany before WWII, but I hope we’d agree that was an awful stain on our heritage.
No one that I know of opposed deporting violent criminal immigrants under other administrations because it was done with due process. And no one should protest the protection of non-violent immigrants from arbitrary and often cruel, limitless imprisonment (that heavily benefits the private prison management industry) before they are deported and reeks of concentration camp fascism in America.