by Nicholas Ballasy
In Maryland and Virginia, disputes over immigration enforcement and firearms restrictions exposed widening tensions between Democratic state leaders and local law enforcement officials
Two Democrat governors trying to advance progressive policies on immigration and gun control are facing pushback from local law enforcement, with sheriffs and prosecutors in Maryland and Virginia openly resisting portions of the states’ new agendas.
In Maryland, a majority of the state’s elected sheriffs filed a federal lawsuit challenging the newly enacted Community Trust Act, a law backed by Democrat Gov. Wes Moore that limited cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities.
The sheriffs argued the law interfered with their ability to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and could force them to choose between complying with state law and honoring federal obligations.
"This law is a dangerous mandate that has effectively turned Maryland into a sanctuary state by prohibiting these sheriffs from working with federal immigration authorities. They have knee-capped these sheriffs," said Dale Wilcox, who is the executive director and general counsel of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Seventeen sheriffs joined the lawsuit, which claimed the law effectively turned Maryland into a “sanctuary state” by restricting cooperation with ICE.
“It is an intentional state-mandated obstruction of public safety," Harford County Sheriff Jeff Ganford said. “This law deliberately ties the hands of our dedicated local deputies.”
Maryland sheriffs said their fight against the Community Trust Act centered on preserving cooperation with federal agencies and protecting public safety. Immigration-rights advocates countered that limiting ICE collaboration encouraged immigrants to report crimes without fear of deportation.
Moore’s administration has defended the law as a public-safety measure designed to rebuild trust between immigrant communities and local police. The governor’s office said Maryland would continue cooperating with federal authorities when necessary but would not allow local officers to act as immigration agents.
At the same time, Virginia Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger faced a separate showdown with local prosecutors after signing one of the state’s most sweeping gun-control packages in decades.
The law prohibited the sale, transfer and manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines, which is part of a broader push by Democrats to tighten firearm restrictions after taking unified control of state government.
Spanberger's office said she believes that "firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on Virginia streets."
Prosecutors in counties including Spotsylvania, Powhatan, Pulaski and Smyth said they would not enforce Virginia’s new assault-weapons ban, which was scheduled to take effect July 1, arguing it is unconstitutional.
"The case law is clear to me. You look at the Miller decision, you look at the Bruen decision, you look at the Heller decision," Spotsylvania County Commonwealth's Attorney Ryan Mehaffey said, according to a local news report. "Whatever statute is passed by the General Assembly, however well-meaning it may be, it's going to be incapable of superseding the supreme law of the land, which are the constitutional protections of the people."
Gun-rights organizations filed lawsuits seeking to block the assault-weapons ban before it took effect.
Del. Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg), pushed back on the local prosecutors' efforts.
“When we pass a law, it is their constitutional responsibility to enforce those laws,” he said.
Nicholas Ballasy
Source: https://justthenews.com/nation/states/leftist-agenda-two-democratic-governors-meets-unexpected-resistance-sheriffs-and
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