After decades in the trenches of public service, a veteran Maryland prosecutor is done playing along—and he’s not going quietly. Carroll County State’s Attorney Haven Shoemaker is packing up and heading south, blasting what he calls an “insane” ultra-progressive grip on the Old Line State.
In a blunt assessment, Shoemaker didn’t sugarcoat it: “Maryland has become California on the Chesapeake. It only gets worse. It’s not getting better. And at some point, I just had to make a personal decision that it’s time to throw in the towel and head for what I believe are greener pastures.” He’s had enough.
Shoemaker says the exodus isn’t just his own midlife pivot—it’s part of a broader trend. “The State of Maryland has one of the worst outward migration numbers of any state in the country right now,” he said. “So, I don’t know who’s going to be the last to foot the bill for the profligate spending that Annapolis likes to engage in, but it’s not going to be me, I can tell you that.”
That “bill,” according to critics, keeps growing as Democratic leaders push policies that expand government and, they argue, stretch taxpayers thin. At the top of Shoemaker’s grievance list: immigration enforcement limits and a tax burden he says is spiraling.
The breaking point? A recent law effectively blocking local cooperation with federal immigration authorities under the 287(g) program. For Shoemaker, that was the final straw. “I’ve been contemplating this move for a while, but the linchpin for me was this most recent legislative session where they essentially made Maryland a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants.”
Supporters of the measure, including Governor Wes Moore, frame it differently—arguing it protects communities and keeps local policing focused. Moore has said, “We will not allow untrained, unqualified and unaccountable agents to deputize our brave local law enforcement officers,” while emphasizing that “Maryland is a community of immigrants… It is not our weakness, it’s our strength.”
He argues the sanctuary-style shift is just one piece of a broader policy puzzle he sees as increasingly disconnected from fiscal reality. He points to a $1.6 billion tax hike passed as part of a $67 billion budget aimed at closing a multibillion-dollar deficit—while warning more red ink is on the horizon.
“They’re already looking at a structural deficit going into next year’s budget of another billion and a half or so,” he said, adding that “the handwriting is on the wall” and accusing state leaders of catering to an “ultra-progressive base.”
Shoemaker’s résumé reads like a lifetime commitment to Maryland: former mayor of Hampstead, county commissioner, state delegate, and House Minority Whip. Not exactly an outsider throwing stones. Which makes his departure sting more for those paying attention.
Now, he’s joining the growing pipeline of residents heading for lower-tax, redder pastures—North Carolina, in his case.
His parting shot doubles as a warning: “A lot of taxpayers from across the State of Maryland are fleeing in droves. If you want to staunch the bleeding that’s occurring, maybe you should rethink your policies.”
