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Maryland advocates, immigration lawyers rush to file cases before Trump is sworn in – Maryland Matters

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Maryland advocates, immigration lawyers rush to file cases before Trump is sworn in – Maryland Matters


Maricé Morales says her small law firm has been so busy working immigration cases since news of President-elect Donald Trump (R) returning to the White House that she’s looking to hire extra help.

“Everybody is really afraid,” Morales said in a recent interview. “And they’re wondering if they have a pending petition, if that is enough to protect themselves under the law, in front of a judge.”

That means the former Montgomery County delegate, the sole attorney in the Law Office of Maricé Morales, who works with four paralegals, is looking for extra hands to deal with the increased workload, as immigrants across the state look to shore up their documentation status in anticipation of a hostile Trump-administration.

Trump repeatedly promised on the campaign trail that he will begin a mass deportation effort on his first day of his presidency. His nominations since the election of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Holman as a White House “border czar” have only increased the likelihood he will hold true that promise.

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Immigration attorneys and immigrant advocates looking for every available avenue to keep as many Maryland immigrants as possible in the state. According to CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, there are around 300,000 undocumented residents in Maryland. Other organizations, like the Migration Policy Institute, put the number at 225,000 in the state.

Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA, spoke at a rally in Annapolis in March 2023. Photo by Bryan P. Sears.

“They are very devastated, very scared,” said Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of CASA, of undocumented residents in Maryland. “They are concerned about what will happen with their family. But at the same time, they are ready to fight back, meaning they are ready to do whatever it takes to protect their rights.”

He said that CASA is working on outreach, including a “Know Your Rights” educational campaign to help migrants navigate the complicated immigration system and connect them with resources.

Torres and immigration lawyers in the state say a lot of protection for undocumented immigrants and those under certain immigration programs will come from the court system.

Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations with American Immigration Lawyers Association, said that lawyers are working to get as many immigration cases filed as possible before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025.

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“Trump has promised a lot of things on immigration that can be very scary. A lot of our members are focused on trying to get as many filings in now as they can,” she said. “Many of our members know what happened in the first Trump administration, that litigation became such a key tool in their arsenal to get their clients cases approved or even to challenge those policies.

“The positive is that we all went through a Trump 1.0 administration, so we know what policies they enacted and will then likely bring back,” she said.

That said, Dalal-Dheini noted that Trump’s administration is likely to be more successful this term, as he will be building off of his previous experience from his last presidency that ended in 2020.

Trump rapidly unveils appointments to Cabinet, staff posts in dizzying post-election week

According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a federal records database maintained by Syracuse University, there were 57,395 pending immigration cases in Maryland as of October, a fraction of the 3.7 million cases nationwide. According to Morales, those 57,000 people are more protected from deportation due to the fact that they have a  case open in court.

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“As long as you’re within the court system, you have the guarantee that your rights will be protected,” Morales said.

Both Morales and Dalal-Dheini said that Maryland tends to be more immigrant-friendly than other states.

“We’re also in a much more diverse and open-minded and immigrant-friendly community,” Dalal-Dheini said. “Like our leadership in Maryland has always valued what immigrants bring to our country, regardless of whether they are documented or not.”

DACA and TPS in question

Still, immigration attorneys and advocates fear that a Trump presidency may also affect the roughly 7,000 residents who are in the state under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and the estimated 22,000 to 27,000 residents who have been given Temporary Protective Status (TPS).

DACA residents, sometimes called Dreamers, are undocumented immigrants who are protected from deportation because they were brought to the U.S. as children. Those with TPS have been granted temporary immigration status to stay in the U.S. because of a natural disaster or an ongoing conflict that makes it unsafe for them to return their home country.

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Both categories are lawfully present, but advocates fear it is just a matter of time before the Trump administration tries to disrupt those programs.

“The Trump administration has used rhetoric that would call people who are here legally — on temporary protective status or DACA or parole, they’re allowed to be here and live here legally  — they now try to refer to those individuals as illegal,” Dalal-Dheini. “So, this sense of fear in the immigrant community … I think that’s the biggest problem, that people are going to be looking over their shoulder all the time.”

Thousands of immigrants in Maryland could be deported if Trump carries through on the mass deportation plans he campaigned on.

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“People will be disappearing,” Morales said. “You’ll go to the grocery store and you won’t see workers, or go to your favorite restaurant and you won’t see people … kids in your kid’s classrooms who won’t be there anymore.”

Dalal-Dheini advises that immigrants and concerned residents get in contact with a lawyer to see what their options are.

“They should definitely consult with an attorney to see if there are things that they could do to further protect themselves,” she said.

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“I think it will be really important to try to normalize your status, if you are able to change to some kind of more permanent status,” Dalal-Dheini said. “Immigrants should, knowing that there’s this deportation, that people should have emergency plans in place.”



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Strong winds Wednesday evening, cold weather for Thanksgiving in Maryland

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Strong winds Wednesday evening, cold weather for Thanksgiving in Maryland


Central and Eastern Maryland will experience unseasonably mild weather Wednesday afternoon, with highs in the mid-60s to near 70°. 

A strong cold front will bring a broken line of sprinkles and gusty showers to the area between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Measurable rainfall isn’t likely with the front, but a drastic temperature drop and gusty winds will be quite dramatic mid to late this evening.

Arctic blast Wednesday in Maryland

Early morning low clouds and fog are lifting across central and eastern Maryland. Skies will continue to be partially clear now through mid-afternoon. This will allow temperatures to climb into the upper 60s to near 70°. Expect a breeze out of the west-southwest at 10 to 20 mph.

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A broken line of sprinkles and showers will cross the area between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. These sprinkles and showers will last anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes. Strong gusty winds will follow this batch of showers, which will help bring much colder air down into the area late tonight. 

Overnight lows will fall into the upper 30s, but gusty winds will continue to impact the region overnight with wind-chills down to around 30°.

Cold weather during Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Gusty, cold winds will be the big story across Maryland on Thanksgiving Day. Temperatures will drop into the upper 30s on Thanksgiving Day morning, with wind-chills even colder – a stark contrast from Wednesday afternoon. 

Thanksgiving Day looks cold for the entire day with partly sunny weather. Highs will only top out in the mid-40s with gusty winds out of the west-northwest at 15 to 20 mph. Wind-chills will not reach any higher than the mid to upper 30s.

The Ravens game Thanksgiving evening will feature January-like cold with temperatures in the lower 30s with numbing wind gusts and wind-chills in the 20s.

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The cold and breeziness continues on Black Friday: Friday morning wind chills for some will dip into the teens and 20s. Even with sunshine in the forecast Friday, temperatures in some neighborhoods may not reach 40°.

Rain returns to Maryland Sunday

The final weekend of November starts quiet but may end on a wet note. Temperatures both days will max out in the 40s.  

Saturday looks brisk, bright and chilly with highs in the lower 40s. Clouds increase late Saturday into Sunday morning. Sunday also brings the chance of some rain back to Maryland, especially later in the day. We’ve tagged Sunday as a possible First Alert Weather Day for Sunday given that it’s another high-impact travel day across Maryland as people return from the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Winter weather possible early next week

While Monday looks nice and quiet with a partly to mostly cloudy sky, the weather could get interesting Monday night into next Tuesday as a wave of low pressure moves in our direction from the southwest.

The track and strength of this area of low pressure will be critical in determining how much rain, ice, and/or snow will be possible across central and eastern Maryland. Right now, computer models disagree with the exact track; therefore, a wide variety of outcomes are possible.

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At this time, the chance of winter weather is great enough that the WJZ First Alert Weather Team has tagged Tuesday as a possible First Alert Weather Day. Please check back with our team through the holiday weekend as details about the storm and its possible impacts become clearer. 



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Olympic Gold medalist Quincy Wilson commits to University of Maryland Track & Field Program

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Olympic Gold medalist Quincy Wilson commits to University of Maryland Track & Field Program


Olympic Gold medalist and Maryland native Quincy Wilson has committed to the University of Maryland’s Track and Field Program, Head Coach Andrew Valmon announced Monday. 

Wilson chose Maryland over South Carolina, Southern California, Texas A&M and UCLA, according to Coach Valmon.

“Quincy is a generational athlete who has the upside to continue to thrive at the top of our sport,” Valmon said in a statement. “His support system here at Maryland, in his home state, is unmatched. I am excited to get to work on this next phase of his journey.”

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Wilson became the youngest American male to be part of the Olympic track team at 16 years old. 

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He was a rising junior at Bullis School in Potomac when he competed in last year’s Olympics. He was also named the USATF Athlete of the Year in 2024 after becoming one of the most well-known track and field athletes in the U.S. 

Wilson worked alongside Terps Assistant Throws Coach Rudy Winkler and Maryland Associate Head Coach Danielle Siebert during the Paris Olympics. Former Olympian and record-holder Coach Valmon hopes to provide strong experience and mentorship to Wilson. 

“Though Maryland has produced several Olympians throughout the program’s track and field history and has several current and former Olympians and U.S. Track & Field Olympic staff, Wilson is the first-ever Olympic competitor to sign with the Terps,” UMD said in a statement.

Quincy Wilson’s Track and Field career 

Wilson had his breakout year in 2023, according to Coach Valmon. He claimed the New Balance Nationals indoor 400-meter title with 46.67 seconds and won second place at the New Balance Nationals outdoor 400 meters.

In 2023, Wilson also made history as one of the youngest U.S. athletes to sign a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) contract with a major sports brand. 

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He completed the 2025 outdoor season tied for seventh fastest in the world. 

Wilson began competing nationally in 2022, winning his fifth AAU Junior Olympic Games title and coming in second place in the 200-meter final. 



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Autopsy report in Maryland prosecutor Jonathan Luna’s 2003 death may soon be released

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Autopsy report in Maryland prosecutor Jonathan Luna’s 2003 death may soon be released


The autopsy report in the cold case surrounding the 2003 death of Baltimore prosecutor Jonathan Luna could soon be unsealed.

The Lancaster, Pennsylvania, District Attorney told WJZ that those coroner’s records should be released, which will be decided by the court.

Luna’s body was found in a creek in Lancaster County with nearly 40 stab wounds. The coroner ruled his death a homicide, but the report was never released.

In the decades since, police have not identified a suspect or suspects.

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“In the years following the initial hearing in 2020, the investigation into the death of Jonathan Luna was handed over to a new team of investigators at the Pennsylvania State Police who undertook a thorough reexamination and reevaluation of the case, in close consultation with the District Attorney’s Office,” the Lancaster District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “Based on this reexamination and reevaluation and based on the new approach that we are taking with this very unique case, we now believe that the Coroner’s records can be unsealed without substantially hindering the investigation into Mr. Luna’s death.”

Luna’s unsolved death

Luna, who was a 38-year-old assistant U.S. attorney in Baltimore, was found lying face down in a creek, wearing a suit and a tie, in Lancaster County around 5 a.m. on December 4, 2003, according to the Washington Post.

The coroner’s office at the time determined that Luna had died from stab wounds and drowning. His death was determined to be a homicide. Officials said more than half of the stab wounds were to his neck.

According to a story by the Washington Post, Luna reported leaving his Baltimore office at 11:38 p.m. and heading north on Interstate 95, away from his home. 

His car passed through several toll booths in Maryland and Delaware before stopping at an ATM in Newark, Delaware, according to the Post. His debit card was reported used at a Sunoco gas station in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, around 3:20 a.m.

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Police said Luna’s car was parked at the back of a well-drilling company in Denver, Pennsylvania, before it was driven into the creek. 

To this date, his case remains unsolved.

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