By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Black legislators and community members rallied at Lawyers Mall on March 20 for We Are Casa’s Black Lobby Day, urging the legislature to pass a package of bills affecting Black residents statewide.
With roughly 20 days left in session, We Are Casa is calling on the Maryland General Assembly to pass legislation that would limit state and local correctional employees’ collaboration with federal law enforcement. We Are Casa is a national nonprofit organization working to support and improve the lives of Black, Latinx and immigrant families.
The legislative package also seeks to restrict immigration officials’ access to state databases, require local zoning approval before private detention centers open and mandate minimum standards for custody, care and conditions in immigrant detention facilities.
According to the Online Deportation Data Project, more than 3,300 people were detained by ICE in Maryland between Jan. 1, 2025, and mid-October 2025. In Baltimore City, about 50 people with African or Caribbean citizenship were arrested, with more than 195 arrested statewide.
“On this special day, we demand justice for our people and we will be lobbying to ensure that our voices are heard here in Maryland and throughout the world,” said Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, chief of organizing and leadership for We Are Casa, during the livestreamed event. “We want to uplift and remind everybody who can hear our voice that we are under attack as a diaspora.”
“The [47th president’s] administration tried to silence us in the dark, but we will shine in the light and we will say no more,” she added.
Walther-Rodriguez highlighted how the presidential administration has impacted the Black diaspora immigrant community.
“This administration directly attacked TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for so many African nations,” she said. “Community members who have been here with work permits are now back in the shadows. To the legislators of Maryland, we say we need you right now to stand with us.”
Leaders shared stories of immigrants affected by federal immigration crackdowns, including Rabbiatu Kuyateh, a nurse and grandmother separated from her family and deported.
“Rabbiatu [is] an African nurse here from Maryland who during the COVID-19 pandemic devoted her life to serve those around her, risking her own life,” said Walther-Rodriguez. “What did the administration give Rabbiatu? A deportation to [another] country using a loophole after she was not permitted to be deported to her home country. Rabbiatu’s story is a story of hundreds, if not thousands, here in Maryland who continue to fight for their liberation but continue to be silenced and pushed away by the [47th president’s] administration.”
We Are Casa is actively demanding Kuyateh’s return to the U.S.
“Our journey as Black immigrants are voluminous and varied,” said Delegate Bernice Mireku-North (D-Md.-14), the daughter of African immigrants. “That’s why we are here. We have been given an opportunity to thrive in this state. Our resilience and contributions to Maryland … deserve to be celebrated and protected.”
“The African community contributes greatly to our economy,” added Mireku-North. “About $5.6 billion in income, $1.6 billion in taxes and $360 million in state and local taxes. We are nurses, health aids, worship leaders, entrepreneurs, activists, artists, politicians and so much more.”
As of March 23, the Community Trust Act (HB1575 / SB791) remains in committee in each chamber. The House version of the Data Privacy Act (HB711/SB504) has crossed over to the Senate, but the Senate version of the bill is still in committee. As for the Local Zoning for Private Immigrant Detention (HB1017 / SB984) bill, the House version has crossed over and the Senate version is on third reader.
The Mandatory Standards for Immigrant Detention (HB1018) has crossed over to the Senate and awaits action in the Judicial Proceedings committee.
If the bills are not passed through their respective chamber and over to the other chamber by March 23, the crossover deadline, the likelihood of the bill succeeding this session is slim.