ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) — When people are picked by during immigration enforcement and detained, that detention doesn’t take place in Maryland due to a law passed in 2021, but now, some people want that changed.

Lawmakers passed the Dignity Not Detention Act in 2021 and it prohibits local jurisdictions from entering into contracts with ICE for detainees and implemented a sunset for contracts that were in place at the time.

Backed by Del. Vaughn Stewart, D-Montgomery County, the law aimed to prevent people from being picked up “for stupid reasons,” he said, and urge ICE to prioritize the most violent criminals in their enforcement.

“Because we knew that would force ICE’s hand; we knew they would have to prioritize the offenders who had committed the most egregious offenses and shipped them out of Maryland,” Del. Stewart said. “And I know that there has been some talk about unintended consequences with the bill or unanticipated both of those are what we intended. What has happened? The bill has worked.”

Adam Crandell, an immigration attorney in Baltimore, said when the legislation was moving through Annapolis, he voiced his concerns with the impact on his clients. Detaining migrants in neighboring states, like Pennsylvania and Virginia, was most likely at the time. And even that, Crandell said, poised problematic.

“This always felt to me, Dignity Not Detention always felt to me like a solution in search of a problem,” Crandell said.

But as immigration enforcement ramps up, bed space is more limited. During an exclusive ride along with ICE, FOX45 News was there when several targets were detained, as well as collateral migrants – or people who were detained but not the target of the criminal investigation. President Donald Trump made it clear to ICE agents he was fine with collateral arrests.

“The handcuffs are off. Before, it was you had to meet certain criteria to be arrested. Now, we are enforcing the law written by Congress,” Elliston said. “If you’re illegally here and we come across you, you’re going to get arrested.”

Because of Dignity Not Detention, the people arrested during the ride along were taken to a detention facility in El Paso, Elliston said. When people are taken to different locations, they often end up in different federal circuits, meaning case law can differ.

“Sometimes these jurisdictions aren't as friendly. For example, the Fourth Circuit here in Maryland is some of these jurisdictions simply aren't as friendly when it comes to interpretation of the immigration law,” Crandell explained.

Del. Stewart stood by the law when questioned this week about the concerns from Crandell. All legislation has tradeoffs, and Dignity Not Detention wasn’t created for immigration attorneys, Del. Stewart said.

“And there's only so much we can do. The Trump Administration wants to go in the direction of picking up random immigrants who are not connected with any crime and start shipping them to jails at the end of the day, we are limited as a government on what we can do,” Del. Stewart said.

While Elliston noted the expense to taxpayers for sending migrants across the country for detention, Del. Stewart said he’s fine with other states subsidizing the movement of migrants out of Maryland.

“I mean it's America, it’s U.S. taxpayer dollars,” he said. “So, for other states to subsidize people being taken out of Maryland to me, is not a loss.”

While there hasn’t been a bill introduced during the current General Assembly session, Del. Stewart said like any law, he would be open to making adjustments to Dignity Not Detention if it came up. Until that happens though, Crandell said the challenges for his clients, and those of other immigrant attorneys, will likely continue.

“We're going to see the use of detention continue to increase. ICE here locally has told us that that's going to happen; more and more people, more and more Maryland residents are going to be taken and held out of state,” Crandell said. “So, more lives are going to be impacted over the course of the next year or however long it takes.”

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