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Friend,
2025 is coming to a close. We hope you and yours have plans to be in community and joy this holiday season. We're in a moment of reflection on the year behind us, and planning for the year ahead. While the work for a better, more just Maryland can feel never-ending, we want to take a moment to reflect on how we've made meaningful progress on some really important issues, and ask for your help to turn them into wins in the new year.
The 2026 Maryland legislative session will start January 14th, and it's our 90-day window of opportunity to pass key reforms at the state level and make meaningful change in our state. Here are a few of the key issues we'll be working on:
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Immigrant Justice: We've all seen the devastating photos and videos of ICE raids in our communities. In 2026, we'll be supporting CASA's campaign to end 287(g) agreements with ICE in Maryland. 287(g) agreements allow counties in our state to partner with ICE and deputize their officers as ICE agents. Last session, Senate leadership thought that banning these agreements would make our state a target for backlash from the federal government. But they've seen that we're a target no matter what, and have committed to passing this important bill1. This is important progress, and we must get it done. Stay tuned for how you can help.
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Youth Justice: Last month, a state commission issued a report2 saying that ending the automatic charging of youth as adults is the number one action Maryland must take to get in compliance with federal law. Maryland charges so many kids as adults that we rank #49 as the second worst state in the country, just behind Alabama. When young people are charged as adults, they're subjected to horrific treatment in adult facilities. We know this only further traumatizes our youth and does not make our communities safer. We've been fighting to pass legislation to seriously reform our state's automatic charging laws, and after 14 hard years, with the support of many advocates, former judges, and youth justice experts, we feel hopeful that we can win in 2026. Send a message to your legislators urging them to take action next session, and sign up at the link below to join our youth justice lobby night on February 2nd!
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Housing Justice: Every Marylander deserves safe, stable housing. But with the high price of rent and...everything else, it's harder and harder for families to stay in their homes. Our partners at Renters United Maryland passed legislation to create the Community Schools Rental Assistance Program in 2024, which will provide eviction prevention funding for families with young people in community schools. Last month Governor Moore released $5 million in funding for this program3, which is an amazing start. Next session, we'll be partnering with RUM to urge our state legislators to fully fund this program at $25 million to help 9,375 families avoid eviction, as well as passing other critical protections for renters. Sign the petition to support the 2026 Legislative Agenda for Stable Homes and Strong Communities at the link below.
We're excited to keep the momentum going, and win big on important issues to make our communities stronger. Thanks for your support and joining us. Want to help fuel this momentum? Consider making a donation to support our work. Any amount helps us show up for our partners.
Sincerely,
The Advance Maryland team
1 https://www.thebanner.com/politics-power/state-government/maryland-ban-ice-agreements-TYLTUAE3WJDHVFF4VY6SE6XM4Y/
2 https://marylandmatters.org/2025/11/10/juvenile-justice-commission-wants-to-stop-automatically-charging-youth-as-adults/
3 https://governor.maryland.gov/news/press/pages/governor-moore-announces-funding-for-eviction-and-homelessness-prevention-through-community-schools-rental-assistance-progr.aspx
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