Immigration advocates in Maryland gathered outside the State House on Wednesday to support a new bill aimed at shielding the state’s immigrant communities from policies enacted during President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Maryland Data Privacy Act, one of three key bills listed in CASA’s legislative agenda, had its first committee hearing on Wednesday. The bill seeks to prevent federal immigration agents from accessing sensitive personal data from state databases unless they have a warrant from a state or federal judge.
State Sen. Clarence Lam, the bill’s sponsor, explained that this bill follows a previous one he passed during Trump’s first term in office.
The two other bills in CASA’s agenda—the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act and the Maryland Values Act—are scheduled for their first committee hearings on Thursday.
Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, Lam, Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman, and several CASA leaders and members rallied outside the Maryland State House. Alex Vazquez, CASA’s Director of Organizing, shared a personal story from a CASA member who was tracked by federal agents using private data.
“As I stood there in handcuffs, one of the agents casually admitted how they found me,” Vazquez read. “They had used Maryland’s [Motor Vehicle Administration’s] database to track my location.”
Protecting State Data
While federal agents are currently prohibited from accessing Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration data due to a bill passed by Lam in 2021, this new legislation aims to expand those protections to all state databases.
Lam emphasized the importance of the bill in light of recent actions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which had tried to access data systems and make personnel decisions at various federal agencies. A federal judge ruled against 14 Democratic state attorneys general who attempted to block this access.
“We are incredibly concerned about the federal government trying to access our state’s information,” Lam said. “We’ve built a level of trust with our residents that we want to continue.”
Lierman, in her testimony supporting the bill, pointed out that immigrants may avoid providing personal information to the state out of fear, which could have negative consequences for state tax revenue.
“In 2022 alone, immigrants contributed $5.3 billion in state and local taxes, and over $6 billion to social services like Social Security and Medicaid,” Lierman said.
Clarity and Safety Concerns
During the hearing, State Sen. Chris West and other senators expressed concerns that the bill does not clearly outline the conditions under which federal agents could obtain a warrant.
Morningside Police Chief Daniel Franklin, while understanding the bill’s intent, warned about potential unintended consequences. He voiced concerns that the bill could complicate the enforcement of federal immigration laws and disrupt state-federal cooperation.
“It would establish a practice of hindering the enforcement of federal immigration laws,” Franklin said. “These laws have been in place for decades under multiple administrations.”
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