Support the Maryland Law Enforcement TRUST Act
Vote FOR HB 29
The TRUST Act would stop local law enforcement from turning people over to immigration and help to restore the trust between immigrant communities and the law enforcement institutions they need to rely on for protection.
Support the Maryland Law Enforcement TRUST Act Vote FOR HB 29
Why is this important?
Meet Daniel Bonilla Maldonado.
Daniel came to the United States in 2005 in order to escape extreme economic hardship and gang persecution in Honduras. Daniel has had steady employment for the past 9 years and lives with his wife and children including a US Citizen son.
In 2012, Daniel was the passenger of a car that was stopped by police for a broken tail light. Though a background search on Daniel revealed no criminal record whatsoever, Daniel was arrested, along with the driver, and suffered abusive language, poor treatment, and ethnic slurs by the police officers.
Daniel was transferred to ICE custody, where he was detained for 25 days before being released. After over a year of legal battles with expense but inadequate legal representation, he was denied a stay of deportation and ordered to report to ICE bi-weekly.
Daniel says that he would be afraid to call the police, even if he was the victim of the crime. “After all that’s happened, I've lost faith in the strength of justice in this country. If I can be arrested for simply riding in the passenger’s seat of a car, surely I can be arrested for being a mere victim.”
The TRUST Act would stop local law enforcement from turning people, like Daniel, over to immigration and help to restore the trust between immigrant communities and the law enforcement institutions they need to rely on for protection.
Support the Maryland Law Enforcement TRUST Act Vote FOR HB 29
