The Maryland General Assembly convened on December 6 for a special session. The main focus of the special session is the redistricting process that states must complete every decade after the census. However, in addition to redistricting, the legislature voted to override Governor Larry Hogan’s (R) veto of a bill that bans immigration detention and makes Maryland a sanctuary state, as well as one that restricts sharing information with immigration authorities. House Bill (HB) 16, the so-called “Dignity Not Detention Act,” sponsored by Delegate Vaughn Stewart (D-Montgomery County) was initially solely a ban on immigration detention contracts. However, on the...
