Friend,

We hope you and yours had a restful, restorative holiday season. If you’re like us, between the U.S. invading Venezuela, and the ICE murder of Renee Nicole Good, these past two weeks have been a tough snap back to reality. These horrific events perpetrated and endorsed by our federal government are a call to all of us to deepen our commitment to taking action for justice – at the international, federal, local, and state level. ✊

Luckily for those of us eager to act, the Maryland General Assembly’s 2026 Legislative Session starts today, January 14th! This 90-day session is our yearly opportunity to pass legislation to make Maryland a better, more just state for ALL. Here at Advance Maryland, we are working on a number of priorities, and we will send you updates on their progress, and ways to get involved throughout the session. In addition to our state advocacy, we are determined to do everything we can to fight tyranny and fascism wherever it appears.

Here are some highlights of a few key issues:

Protecting our Immigrant Communities🦋

We’ve all seen the devastating photos and videos of ICE raids in our communities. In 2026, we’ll be supporting immigrant rights organizations and the ACLU's campaign to end 287(g) agreements with ICE in Maryland, and legislation to ban ICE officers from masking to hide their identities in our communities. 287(g) agreements allow county law enforcement departments in our state to partner with ICE and deputize their officers as ICE agents. In the last year, the number of counties with 287(g) agreements has doubled. The terror ICE is inflicting on our communities must end now.

Expanding Protections for Legally Protected Healthcare💊🩺🏥

Maryland has robust laws in place to protect the rights of patients and providers of legally protected healthcare like abortion and gender-affirming care, but there’s more we need to do to ensure anyone receiving or providing care in Maryland is protected from outside attacks.

The threats from anti-abortion extremists and transphobes are never ending. We have to keep Marylanders protected from federal overreach and hostile states by staying one step ahead and adopting safeguards that have been pressure-tested in other states. We’ll be supporting a handful of bills to ensure Maryland stays a leader in protecting legally protected healthcare.

Ensure All Marylanders Have Stable, Affordable Housing🏘️

Everyone needs, and everyone deserves safe, stable, affordable housing. As the cost of housing skyrockets, and Marylander's struggle to afford basic needs, it is essential that our affordable housing strategy includes protections for renters

We’re joining our partners at the Renters United Maryland coalition in supporting a handful of bills to ensure tenants can’t be evicted without a valid reason, increase funding for eviction prevention funds, ensure all renters have a fair chance at obtaining housing, and prevent a media hysteria around “squatters” from creating an “evict first, ask questions later” agenda that could harm legal occupants.

These are just some of the priorities we have for this session. We continue to fight for justice of all kinds– youth justice, reproductive justice, environmental justice, and so much more.

📝Join us in taking action on these and other important issues by sending messages to your legislators!

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." – Martin Luther King Jr.

In Solidarity,
The Advance Maryland Team 💙