Frustrated by the inability of Republicans to have anti-illegal-immigration proposals debated in both chambers of the General Assembly in recent years, Del. Patrick L. McDonough said that top Democratic leaders in the state could very well find themselves named in another lawsuit this year.

McDonough, who has proposed legislation that would allow citizen complaints to remove public officials from office for "violating the federal immigration act," said a lawsuit may be likely if the legislature again ignores his bill and that of other Republicans seeking to deny certain public benefits to illegal immigrants.

He said attorneys funded by "various non-profit groups" that prefer not to be named were already working on the potential lawsuit, which would likely be filed on July 4. (What court house will be open on July 4 remains to be seen.) McDonough noted that numerous other suits around the country have dealt with local or state proposals on how to deal with illegal immigration, but that this lawsuit would be "an offensive lawsuit" filed against Gov. Martin O'Malley and the entire General Assembly.

If the suit does materialize, it would be the second time a Republican legislator has sought relief in court against the actions of the legislature. Maryland's highest court agreed yesterday to hear a Republican-backed lawsuit seeking to invalidate tax increases passed during last year's special legislative session. The hearing is scheduled before the Court of Appeals on March 11.

"A lot of people might dismiss this lawsuit as just another tactic, but if they do, they're going to be in for a surprise," said McDonough, who said he was scheduled to discuss the bill on TV with CNN's anti-illegal-immigrant crusader Lou Dobbs next week.

"We are fighting to enforce the rule of law and fighting to promote the rules of citizenship in this country...When you allow rule of law to be violated, you are attacking our citizenship rights."

McDonough said he hoped his effort would refocus the debate, and compared his efforts to that of those who fought for civil rights in the 1960s.

"I feel the way a civil rights legislator might have felt in the 1960s introducing bills in Mississippi," he said. "They knew they were right, but those in power ignored them."