Jefferson Amaya-Ayala was 14. Someone he trusted lured him into a park in Prince George's County last August, and by November investigators had recovered enough evidence to indict four MS-13 members, all of them illegal aliens, on first-degree murder charges. I mention Jefferson first because Maryland lawmakers apparently didn't, when they spent this spring drafting a bill called the Community Trust Act.

Gov. Wes Moore let that bill become law on May 31 without his signature, a maneuver that lets a politician own the outcome while disowning the vote. The Act bars Maryland sheriffs and jailers from asking about someone's immigration status, honoring most ICE detainer requests, or handing a detainee to federal agents without a judge's warrant. Supporters call it trust-building. I know a decision to accept a known risk on someone else's behalf, made without their consent, when I see one. That's not trust. That's a wager, and Maryland's sheriffs didn't get a vote on the terms either.

Seventeen of them sued anyway. Led by Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler, the sheriffs filed Gahler v. Moore on May 26 in federal court, arguing the law is preempted by federal immigration authority under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause. Gahler, 40 years into a law enforcement career, later told Congress the state is forgetting the lessons of September 11 as the 25th anniversary approaches. His operational complaint is plain enough for a lay reader: once a detainee finishes local jail time, the Act can force his release even after ICE has flagged him as a threat, leaving federal agents to make the arrest on the........

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