1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

Urge Maryland to Enact State Terrorism Law and Prosecute ICE Agents I am writing to urge you to introduce legislation establishing a state terrorism statute in Maryland and to use that law to prosecute ICE agents whose enforcement operations meet the legal definition of terrorism under state law. At least ten states already have terrorism statutes modeled on 18 U.S.C. § 2331(5), passed after September 11, 2001. These laws define terrorism as committing serious offenses with the intent to terrorize civilian populations or coerce government policy changes through fear. Maryland needs this same legal framework. The proposed law should define terrorism as occurring when a person commits assault, unlawful detention, threats, endangerment, or forced compliance with the goal of scaring civilians or forcing government action through fear. This is not theoretical. Stephen Miller has directed ICE to arrest 3,000 people daily, four times the previous pace, and the administration has publicized operations to maximize fear through visible, aggressive action. Schools report 20% absenteeism on raid days. Hospitals report patients skipping life-saving appointments. Businesses have closed because workers and customers are too afraid to leave their homes. ICE agents have been documented conducting military-style raids with masked agents in unmarked cars, detaining U.S. citizens without legal basis, holding residents at gunpoint for hours, separating children from parents, and shooting at moving vehicles in violation of DHS rules. These actions fit the definition of terrorism under existing state laws in 32 other states. Federal immunity claims are legally unfounded. Supreme Court precedent establishes that federal employment does not provide blanket immunity from state law. When agents exceed authority or act unreasonably, protection vanishes. States have charged federal agents with murder and assault since the early 1800s. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has already launched an independent investigation into a January shooting by ICE agents. The president cannot pardon state convictions. Maryland must act now to protect its residents by passing this law and coordinating with other states to file charges simultaneously. I urge you to introduce this legislation immediately and work with attorneys general in New York, California, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon to mount coordinated prosecutions.