An Eastern Shore pastor who was arrested by immigration agents Monday and taken to Baltimore for processing is in good spirits and is preaching to fellow detainees — but that preaching is now being done at a detention center in Louisiana.

Daniel Fuentes Espinal, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras with no criminal record, was transferred Thursday from Baltimore to the Winn Correctional Center outside New Orleans, a family friend said Friday.

“He’s a remarkably resilient man, and for all of the trauma that he has been subjected to and the stress that’s been inflicted upon him and on his family, he is upbeat and his spirits are good,” said Len Foxwell, speaking for the family.

Fuentes Espinal’s daughter, Clarissa Fuentes Diaz, had been speaking for the family earlier this week, but is now declining interviews for fear of retaliation, Foxwell said.

Fuentes Diaz spoke to her father Thursday before his transfer. Foxwell said. He said Fuentes Espinal’s attorney filed a motion for a bond hearing, which was approved and will take place next week.

Fuentes Espinal, his wife and daughter fled violence in their native Honduras in 2001, when Clarissa was 8 years old, and eventually came to the Eastern Shore where they put down roots and where two more children were born.

Since 2015, Fuentes Espinal has been pastor of Jesus Te Ama Iglesia del Nazareno [Jesus Loves You Church of the Nazarene] in Easton — an unpaid position. He works in construction to pay the family’s bills.

Fuentes Espinal had gone to a hardware store for construction materials for his job on Monday and was on his way to work when he was stopped by unidentified agents and arrested on immigration charges and taken to Baltimore. The family only learned of his whereabouts when he called later that night, as the family was about to file a missing persons report, his daughter said earlier this week.

Fuentes Diaz recently learned that she had been approved for U.S. citizenship, after a 16-year wait, and said both parents had been working to get documentation. “I was going to help my dad and mom get their papers straight,” but that was before her father was arrested, she said earlier this week.

His arrest comes amid a surge in immigration detentions, part of President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to enact mass deportations if reelected. The pressure to make arrests has led to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents frequenting areas where day-laborers gather, raiding businesses and sites that had previously been off-limits, like courthouses — and, according to critics, engaging in racial profiling to stop people simply for looking Hispanic.

In Maryland, immigration arrests jumped from about 3.7 per day in 2024 to 9.8 per day since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, according to data from the Deportation Data Project.

While Trump and Department of Homeland Security officials have said their immigration enforcement actions are aimed at removing the “worst of the worst” undocumented criminals in the U.S., only 45% of those arrested this year have criminal convictions and 40%, like Fuentes Espinal, have no criminal charges.

Fuentes Espinal’s case has drawn extensive media coverage as well as the attention of immigration advocates and members of Maryland’s congressional delegation. Foxwell said a gofundme page he set up for the family quickly surpassed its original goal of raising $15,000, and then a second goal of $25,000. As of Friday, it was inching toward a new goal of $40,000, which he said will come in handy if the Fuentes Espinal has to travel to Louisiana.

In the meantime, Fuentes Espinal remains upbeat and is trying to console his family, Foxwell said Friday.

“His exact words to his daughter were: ‘This must be God’s plan,’” Foxwell said.

Fuentes Espinal said he has been ministering to his fellow detainees, both in Baltimore and in Louisiana, Foxwell said.

“A preacher is going to preach, and he doesn’t necessarily need a church to talk about the grace of God,” Foxwell said.

Fuentes Diaz told Foxwell that her father said he’s aware of the coverage his case has attracted, and he is grateful.

“He is a true man of faith who embodies the teachings of Christ each and every day of his life,” Foxwell said. “He is remaining upbeat and resilient under a set of circumstances that would break most other people.”

by Lauren Lifke, Maryland Matters
July 26, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

Six members of Maryland’s congressional delegation were turned away Monday when they showed up to inspect a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore where they said people are being temporarily held for deportation or awaiting court hearings.

Democratic Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Johnny Olszewski Jr. (D-2nd), Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd), Glenn Ivey (D-4th) and Kweisi Mfume (D-7th) entered the George H. Fallon Federal Building, where the ICE detention facility is located.

In a joint statement, the lawmakers said the visit was part of their oversight responsibility as members of Congress, and that they were “exercising our legal authority … to inspect the Baltimore federal holding facility, and, if necessary, speak directly with detainees.”

But they were denied entry by an ICE official who told the lawmakers that it was an office, not a detention facility, and that they were not authorized to to enter, even though they wrote the head of ICE and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last Monday to alert them to the visit.

Despite the claim that it’s just an office, Alsobrooks said previous visits by congressional staffers, and a court brief filed by Maryland Attorney General, indicate that immigrants are being held for several days at a time in “hold rooms” at the facility. Those rooms are designed to hold detainees for up to 12 hours while awaiting a court appearance, but are not meant for longer stays, lawmakers said.

“They are breaking the law in there,” Alsobrooks said. She said the official they encountered refused to say who gave the order to bar lawmawkers from the building.

A representative from ICE didn’t respond to requests for comment Monday. But Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st), the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, derided what he called the “‘sit-in’ stunts for cameras,” after several of the lawmakers saw down in front of the ICE office doors.

“Spare us the show. We stand with ICE and their mission to keep Maryland safe,” Harris said in a social media post.

Alsobrooks did not respond to Harris’ post directly, instead chiding him for not using his influence with the White House to secure federal disaster relie for Western Maryland flood victims, which was rejected last week by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“We share a responsibility to the people of Maryland,” she said. “It would be great to be able to get his assistance in getting the disaster relief that people need.”

The Baltimore office recently held Eastern Shore pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras with no criminal record, who was arrested last week and has since been transferred to the Winn Correctional Center outside New Orleans. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Beltsville resident arrested and erroneously deported to El Salvador before being brought back to in Tennessee, where is currently being held, also started his journey in the Baltimore office in March.

Lawmakers said Monday’s visit was a follow-up to a March visit by Alsobrooks and Van Hollen staffers that found overcrowding of up to 54 people in holding rooms, no infirmary or medical staff on-site, with ICE staff “making sandwiches themselves or buying McDonald’s” to feed detainees.

Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) filed an amicus brief in June outlining the conditions in Baltimore and limited “access to counsel” and “basic hygiene.”

Alsobrooks noted that some of the ICE agents were “walking around that building with masks on. The inhumanity and cruelty is an ongoing theme of the people who are treated inside that building.”

“They’re walking around that building with masks on,” she said. “The inhumanity and cruelty is an ongoing theme of the people who are treated inside that building.”

The lawmakers said that federal law gives members of Congress the “explicit right to conduct unannounced oversight visits to DHS [Department of Homeland Security] detention facilities. No prior notice is required, and no agency has the authority to obstruct that legal responsibility.”

Ivey, who traveled in El Salvador in May in an unsuccessful attempt to visit Abrego Garcia, said he wasn’t shocked when was refused a visit there, because officials in that country “don’t have the longest history of democracy there and arguably, don’t have it right now.”

“But this is unbelievable, that they [ICE officials] would turn us away from this building here in the United States … to see our constituents,” Ivey said Monday in a news conference in front of the building. “Not only that, the power of the purse under the Constitution gives us the authority and the obligation to conduct oversight, to make sure money’s being spent wisely.”

Crisaly De Los Santos, director of CASA’s Baltimore and Central Maryland office, called the ICE decision to prevent members fo Congress from touring the building “outrageous.”

“Although federal lawmakers are legally afforded jurisdictional oversight of all ICE facilities, Baltimore ICE unlawfully denied access underscoring that the Trump regime is escalating its denial of restraints and the proper oversight role of the legislative branch,” De Los Santos said. “Imagine, if members of Congress can be treated so poorly by ICE, what is happening in our streets to you and me?”

– Maryland Matters reporter Sam Gauntt contributed to this report.

by William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
July 29, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

Gov. Wes Moore (D), seen here at a 2023 hiring event in Baltimore, vowed at the time to dramatically slash state job vacancies in an effort to “rebuild state government.” On Thursday, Moore announced details of a buyout plan that is part of an effort to cut $121 million from the budget. The plan also includes a hiring freeze. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters).

Thousands of state employees were notified by email Thursday of a buyout program, part of a plan by Gov. Wes Moore (D) to reduce the size of state government and cut $121 million from ongoing personnel expenses.

Details of the “voluntary separation program” were also posted on the website of the state Department of Budget and Management. The plan, first announced in late June, offers eligible, full-time employees in the executive branch $20,000, plus an additional $300 for each year of service. It will also cover six months of paid state health benefits and pay out unused leave and compensatory time.

There is no target for the number of employees the state is hoping will take the buyout, officials said.

“The VSP is one of several actions the governor has implemented to achieve the $121 million reduction, including the hiring freeze already announced,” a spokesperson for the Department of Budget and Management said in an email Friday.

There are nearly 52,000 positions within the state personnel and Maryland Department of Transportation personnel systems. About 4,800 were vacant as of May, the spokesperson said, and 13,500 are in job classifications that are exempt from the buyout offer.

Not all of the remaining workers will be eligible, because some have less than two years of service, and not every employee who applies will be approved.

“It is up to the agency and ultimately the secretary of Budget and Management to approve or deny an employee’s application,” the department spokesperson said.

The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 4.

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) called the offer a “short-term fix for a long-term problem” created by Moore and the Democrat-controlled legislature.

“This program likely won’t do enough,” Hershey said in a statement. “The incentive is too small to prompt meaningful participation from higher-paid employees — the very group whose departure would deliver the most savings.”

Hershey said the $20,000 payout “is barely two months’ salary” in many cases. He warned of what he said would be additional efforts to raise taxes in the legislative session that beings in January.

“Unless Governor Moore is ready to truly reverse course — by scaling back the size and scope of government, embracing fiscal discipline, and respecting bipartisan ideas — Marylanders should brace for more service cuts, more workforce reductions, or yet another round of tax hikes,” Hershey’s statement said.

Nearly three dozen agencies are excluded from the offer. Another nearly 1,700 job classifications are also ineligible.

Employees who submitted a resignation prior to July 10 are ineligible, even if they rescind their original decision.

Other ineligible workers include:

• Those who have applied for service or disability retirement that are either under consideration or approved.
• Terminated employees or those that receive notice of termination by Sept. 30.
• Employees who transfer to another state job between July 10 and Sept. 30.
• Employees who leave their state jobs before Sept. 30.

Officials in the Moore administration previously said the legislature, as part of the budget passed earlier this year, requires them to cut $121 million in ongoing expenses from the current year’s general fund budget.

The governor’s office laid out a plan in broad strokes late last month that includes eliminating 150 vacant positions and imposing a hiring freeze. The plan also called for buyouts. The administration has been reluctant to make public any exact targets.

Early conversations about the budget reductions included requiring as much as a 6% budget reduction from most departments and agencies, which could have been achieved through office space consolidation and other efficiencies, as well as personnel moves. Those same conversations included the possibility of voluntary buyouts and job reductions through attrition and even layoffs in some cases.

Legislators, however, differed with Moore on exactly what the budget reduction goal required — specifically the need to lay off employees.

Officials with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 3 — which represents more than 26,000 state employees — also staunchly opposed proposals that include laying off employees.

In a statement issued Friday, union officials reiterated their opposition to layoffs.

“Any solutions to help our state navigate these tough and volatile times must not come at the cost of providing quality state services,” the union staetment said.

Several agencies — the so-called 24/7 agencies that include state hospitals, the departments of Juvenile Services and the Public Safety and Correctional Services — already suffer from high numbers of vacancies that are covered with overtime.

Union leaders said they worry those understaffed agencies are already at risk for dangerous working conditions and workloads that are unsustainable.

“We want to reiterate that responsible decision-making around both cost-saving and revenue-raising measures must prioritize preserving our state services and the jobs of the workers who make them happen,” the union said. “That includes eliminating costly contracts, in-sourcing services where needed, addressing other inefficiencies, and closing corporate tax loopholes to raise much-needed state revenues.”

The effort to reduce the size of the workforce is a reversal of Moore’s promise to reduce the number of state vacancies. He entered the governor’s office in January 2023 vowing to “rebuild state government.”

At the time, he estimated there were 10,000 vacancies — a number that included the executive branch, higher education and other positions. He publicly committed to cutting that number in half in his first year in office.

He was unsuccessful.

At the same time, he also expanded the number of state jobs and raised salaries.

By Bryan P. Sears

Maryland’s unemployment insurance trust fund faces potential solvency issues that could worsen in the wake of massive federal employee layoffs or a recession, lawmakers were told Tuesday.

Labor Secretary Portia Wu told members of the Joint Committee on Unemployment Oversight that the state’s insurance trust fund of $2 billion currently meets federal solvency requirements. But she said that picture could change dramatically with new analysis reflecting economic downturns and unemployment levels that more closely reflect rates during those times.

“Claims levels are at historic lows right now because of the incredibly low unemployment rate,” Wu told the panel. “But again, as I was saying, we don’t anticipate that will continue.”

Wu’s comments included concerns about the potential for a massive displacement of federal workers under President Donald Trump (R). Some early state projections anticipate as many as 29,000 workers could lose their jobs as Trump culls federal agencies and employees.

The briefing came just hours before the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a lower court injunction that had been blocking Trump administration plans to slash federal payrolls.

Tuesday’s briefing was the first in what is expected to be a series of committee meetings leading to the 2026 legislative session.

Sen. Ben Kramer and Del. Lorig Charkoudian, Montgomery County Democrats who co-chair the panel, have sponsored identical bills to modernize the fund. This was the third year such legislation has been proposed. The meetings during the interim are a prelude to a fourth effort next year that could result in updated benefits and potentially changes — even increases — in assessments on employers.

“I think the whole purpose of our getting together and starting to meet now and have this conversation is so that we have a better handle on what’s happening,” Kramer said. “I mean, some of the slides are a little bit scary, and they’re getting my attention.”

Charkoudian worried that abrupt changes in the surcharges on employers that could hit at the same time as an economic downturn that displaces workers.

“So, we talk about how do we fix the roof when the sun’s shining?” Charkoudian asked.

Even if anticipated economic downturns do not occur, Wu said the growing number of workers who are becoming eligible for the maximum weekly benefit is stressing the system to the point where the fund could fall below federal guidelines sometime between 2026 and 2027.

Currently, employers in Maryland pay taxes into the account — $26 per employee with a taxable wage base of $8,500. The rate has remained unchanged since 1992. Unemployed workers can receive a maximum weekly benefit of $430, an amount that has not changed since 2010.

Over time, market changes, inflation and a rising minimum wage have increased wages to the point where workers whose jobs might have earned benefits on the low end of the fund’s scale are moving closer to the maximum benefit.

“What’s happening is everyone is moving towards the ceiling of benefits, but that same thing isn’t necessarily happening to revenue,” Wu said. “So that’s where you start seeing a gap and eventually solvency problems.”

Inflation has also outpaced benefits: A dollar of benefits in 2010 went 24% farther than in 2025, Wu said, while average rents have grown by 30% over roughly the same period.

Mike O’Halloran, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said other factors also play a role, and an increase in what businesses pay into the fund would be yet another state-imposed burden.

“Certainly, as legislators, you all are very well aware that some of the costs that businesses have taken,” he said. “Since 2015 … paid sick and safe leave, paid family and medical leave insurance, which has yet to come on board. So, I think when you’re talking about purchasing power, it’s also important to include some of those dynamics that employers are facing since they’re the ones that are funding the trust fund.”

Charkoudian said during the briefing that new rates of $35-$50 per employee might have to be considered. Analysis from Wu’s department — the agency took no public position on any changes — included scenarios that raised the wage base to $15,000 in addition to changes in surcharges.

“I think we all appreciate and value our business and businesses in the state and ensuring their viability,” Kramer said. “But we’re also weighing it against what we’re looking at that’s being forecast, the solvency of the fund.

“I think engaging in this scenario with this body, we’re beginning the conversation,” he said. “So when we do get into session, we have a better handle of where we might want to go and how we do want to address it, keeping in mind all the checks and balances that are important to all of us.”

The unemployment rate in Maryland stood at 3.2% in May. That is higher than the 1.9% in June 2023 but still below the state’s 30-year average of about 5%.

Wu said the unemployment rate is key.

One analysis by the department projects the fund will fall below federal solvency guidelines by 2027 if the state moves back to its average unemployment rate and no changes are made to benefits or taxes levied on employers that feed the fund, Wu said.

An economic downturn, massive number of displaced workers, or a Great Recession scenario would hasten the pace at which the system becomes insolvent.

“We’ve been fortunate that it’s [unemployment] been so low, but I don’t think we can realistically count on it staying below 4% the way it has been, and even if it were to increase to the historical averages, that can create pressure on a fund,” she said.

by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
July 9, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

The Moore administration plans to slash about $121 million from the state’s personnel budget through a combination of buyouts to state employees, a hiring freeze and elimination of at least 150 vacant positions, officials said Tuesday.

The measures were announced in a “Dear colleagues” letter from Gov. Wes Moore (D) to state employees that was sent at noon Tuesday.

“We are moving with care and intentionality to minimize impact on current employees and be transparent throughout the process,” Moore wrote in the letter.

Moore Chief of Staff Fagan Harris said in an interview with Maryland Matters that state officials have been trying for weeks to come up with a plan to get the savings from the state’s general fund, in accordance with the fiscal 2026 budget that the governor signed in May.

“It’s going to be all of these things that help us get to the number, ultimately,” Harris said.

As recently as two weeks ago, the administration was looking at layoffs of current workers as part of the budget-cutting mix, an administration official said at the time. But Harris said Tuesday that they were ultimately able to stop short of actual layoffs.

Even so, the measures will hamper Moore’s goal of growing the state workforce. When he took office in 2023, Moore pledged to rebuild state government, including by filling 5,000 positions left vacant by his predecessor, Gov. Larry Hogan (R). And Moore has recently pushed state agencies to hire former federal workers in search of new jobs amid the Trump administration’s cost-cutting measures.

As of the end of May, there were about 4,800 vacancies in all state agencies, a 9.3% vacancy rate, according to Raquel Coombs, a spokesperson for the Department of Budget and Management.

The administration’s plan excludes the University System of Maryland, which previously announced cuts. Also excluded from the hiring freeze are the state’s “24/7” facilities, such as prisons, hospitals and juvenile facilities, as well as sworn state troopers, Harris said. Administration officials said they’re still crafting the buy-out plan and choosing which vacant positions to eliminate, but those same positions are likely to be excluded.

As part of Tuesday’s announcement, the administration is also pushing state agencies to come up with “creative” cost-cutting solutions, Harris said. That includes “in-sourcing” contracted jobs and consolidating physical facilities, to the extent possible, he said.

Harris said that non-union employees, including those in the governor’s office, will not receive planned salary increases, such as merit raises and step increases. But they will receive a 1% cost-of-living increase in July.

Del. Ben Barnes (D- Anne Arundel and Prince George’s), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said he was pleased to see the governor take a path that did not include cuts of current staff.

“I’m very happy to see that there will not be furloughs or layoffs, as they’re not warranted or necessary given our current fiscal picture,” Barnes said.

Sen. Guy Guzzone (D- Howard), chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, hailed the governor’s move as “very reasonable and logical.” It should achieve the $121 million in needed cuts, but Guzzone warned that further cuts at the federal level could force state officials back to the drawing board.

“We don’t know what else may come along — what other shoe might drop,” Guzzone said. “But I think it’s important to keep a level head and make reasonable decisions along the way. And I think this was a reasonable decision by the governor.”

Barnes said that, based on data from the Department of Legislative Services, he believes the $121 million in savings could be achieved solely by slashing vacant positions.

“Anything beyond that would be additional actions the governor was taking,” Barnes said.

Barnes said the state has reached a solid fiscal position, citing the state’s triple-A bond ratings this year from Fitch and Standard & Poor’s.

Critically, though, Maryland lost its treasured triple-A bond rating this year from Moody’s, the third major bond rating agency, which also downgraded half a dozen other state borrowing programs.

Republican legislative leaders criticized the Moore administration for not enacting the hiring freeze sooner, even as the state’s financial woes became clear.

“Back in February, I questioned the wisdom of expanding state government while facing a $2.8 billion deficit. I said then, and I repeat now: when you’re in a hole, you need to stop digging,” wrote Sen. J.B. Jennings (Baltimore and Harford) in a statement. “The decision to finally enact a hiring freeze and reduce vacant positions is the right one — but it should have happened months ago, before the situation became more urgent.”

Jennings and other Republicans called for the freeze as early as February, in response to Moore’s budget proposal. But Moore administration officials had balked at taking such a step.

“Let’s be honest: this is the Moore Administration quietly admitting that Senate Republicans were right,” said Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready (R-Frederick and Carroll)  in a statement.

Moore’s “Dear colleagues” letter said the hiring freeze will begin July 1. Harris said it is likely to last at least through the fiscal year.

The precise terms for voluntary separation agreements are likely to be released in the coming weeks, Harris said, adding that the administration does not yet have a goal for a number of buyouts.

“We want to drive as much adoption as we can, but there’s no specific target,” Harris said.

The administration is planning to bring a list of vacant positions to the Board of Public Works for elimination around September.

“We want to make it so that the public does not feel these changes,” Harris said. “We certainly are aware of a large universe of savings there, but we’re going to be really careful and intentional this summer, as we work through this to achieve as many savings as we can responsibly.”

by Christine Condon, Maryland Matters
June 24, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

Gov. Wes Moore (D) called for a state of preparedness Monday amid a “hazardous heat wave” rolling across the country that threatens to raise the heat index in Maryland into the triple digits this week.

State officials are warning Marylanders to take the threat of the rising temperatures seriously.

“We ask that all Marylanders do their part to stay vigilant, stay hydrated, and stay in cool locations as much as possible,” Moore said in a statement Monday. “This State of Preparedness will ensure that Maryland is coordinated and poised to protect our people in anticipation of extreme heat and humidity.”

As of Monday evening, the National Weather Service reported that Maryland faces an extreme heat warning through Wednesday, with a heat index of up to 110 during the hottest parts of the day.

“Many Marylanders are at risk for heat-related illness during extreme heat like we are experiencing this week,” Maryland Health Secretary Meena Seshamani said in a written statement.

There’s already been one heat-related death in Maryland, which came before the current heat wave hit. The health department provides only a range of data on victims, but it appears that the first heat death of the year was a female from Montgomery County between the ages of 0-17, whose death occurred before last week’s heat-related illness surveillance report was filed last Wednesday.

In recent years, the first deaths of the season have typically been males in their 40s and 50s. Last year, a total 26 people died from heat-related illnesses, the highest death toll since 2018.

As a precaution, Moore’s state of prseparedness order directs the Department of Emergency Management to coordinate state agencies to prepare for potential impacts from hazards or threats, without calling for a state of emergency.

This is also the first year that new state heat safety standards will be in place on worksites, requiring longer and more frequent breaks when the heat index reaches above 90 and 100 degrees. Employers are also expected to provide ample shade and other methods of cooling down for employees working outside and in hot conditions.

State officials hope the new standards will help reduce death and emergency room visits due to heat-related illnesses.

There have already been 164 emergency room and urgent care visits due to heat-related illnesses, according to latest weekly report from the health department.

The department has urged Marylanders to check up on vulnerable family members and on neighbors who are more susceptible to severe heat illnesses.

“Marylanders are advised to never leave children in a car,” the department said last week. “Always check twice to ensure that a vehicle is empty. Even on a 70-degree day, within half an hour, the temperature inside the vehicle can climb to over 100 degrees.”

The department reminds Marylanders to drink plenty of fluids to help cope with the hot weather and urges folks to avoid alcohol, caffeine and overly sweetened beverages. Officials also encourage wearing sunscreen and staying in the shade when possible. Those in need of a cool location can contact their local health departments or call 211 to find the nearest cooling center.

“Remember to check on those who are particularly vulnerable to this weather — including young children, senior citizens, and people with chronic diseases,” Seshamani said. “Be sure that they have the resources they need to stay comfortable and safe, or help them locate one of the dozens of local cooling centers available.”

by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
June 24, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].