Maryland Delegate Boafo's ICE Breaker Act Would Bar Trump-Era Agents From State Jobs

Prince George's County Delegate Adrian Boafo introduced House Bill 832, the "ICE Breaker Act of 2026," to bar any ICE agent sworn in after President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 from taking jobs with Maryland state or local law enforcement, including embedding with Maryland State Police troopers.

Boafo, a Democrat representing District 23, introduced the bill alongside a Bowie resident and community advocates, framing it as a direct response to the Trump administration's aggressive ICE recruitment push. He said he conceived the legislation after The Washington Post reported on a $100 million "wartime recruitment" strategy by the administration. In January 2026, DHS under former Secretary Kristi Noem appropriated more than $200 million in a single year for recruitment, Boafo told the House Judiciary Committee.

"The ICE Breaker Act places guardrails on individuals coming directly from this current recruiting class, from ever joining Maryland State Police," Boafo said during committee testimony. He argued the state has full authority to act: "Maryland has the authority to set hiring standards for its own law enforcement agencies. This bill simply exercises that authority."

Boafo has not been restrained in his characterization of the agency he is targeting. He called ICE a "lawless paramilitary front whose officers have disgraced our nation with their gratuitous brutality against innocent people," and questioned the judgment of anyone choosing to join in the current climate. "It says something about the morals of the person, the character of the person, if they see what's happening on TV, they see what's happening in the streets and say, 'You know what? I want to join that,'" he said.

The Maryland Attorney General's Office issued a written opinion acknowledging the bill will likely face constitutional challenges under the Equal Protection Clause, the Supremacy Clause, and the First Amendment's implicit right to association. Nevertheless, Attorney General Anthony Brown's office concluded the bill "does not clearly violate any of these constitutional limitations." In response, Boafo declared: "We must never allow them to collect salaries and benefits from the taxpayers of Maryland."

Legal experts have assessed the bill similarly, predicting a lawsuit is likely but that the measure could survive court challenges.

Opposition has been pointed. Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler responded to the legislation with a blunt rebuke: "How sad can Maryland's legislator, how low can they go?" Republican Delegate Nino Mangione pressed Boafo in committee on the bill's potential impact on veterans, noting that one third of all ICE employees have military service backgrounds. "Good enough to fight for the country, but not good enough for state police, according to this bill," Mangione said before closing: "I think you understand, and we agree to disagree." Critics have also warned that Maryland law enforcement agencies are already short-staffed, and that restricting this hiring pool could deepen those gaps.

The bill was introduced against a backdrop of national controversy over ICE enforcement. ICE officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, while she was inside her car in Minneapolis. ICE claimed Good drove at officers; Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey disputed that account, saying she may have been trying to drive away. WUSA9 also reported a similar incident in Maryland the previous month.

Boafo, who is also among roughly two dozen candidates vying for retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer's Fifth Congressional District seat, noted Maryland is not acting alone. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a separate law banning masked agents, which the Trump administration has moved to block in court.

House Bill 832 was awaiting a vote in the House Judiciary Committee as of the March 11 hearing.