Howard County Passes Legislation Preventing Privately-Owned Detention Centers

The Howard County Council passed an emergency bill that effectively killed the federal plan for an ICE detention center in the county.

An image from the Howard County press release discussing the passage of CB16-2026.

Last Friday, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball signed into law CB16-2026, which prevents the county from issuing permits for privately-owned detention centers. The bill, introduced Monday of last week, was drafted as emergency legislation in response to recent efforts to establish a privately-owned detention center in Elkridge.

The law modifies existing Howard County code by limiting I-3 building permits in the county, so they can only be issued to government agencies. I-3 buildings are a category defined by the International Building Code as institutional buildings “inhabited by more than five persons who are under restraint or security,” such as incarcerated people.

It also allows for revocation of building permits for permit holders that are not government agencies when the property has not passed final inspections.

As the potential Elkridge facility is privately owned by Genesis GSA Strategic One LLC, a Michigan company contracted by the Federal government back in 2023, it no longer has the necessary building permits to operate.

In Howard County’s press release about the new law, Ball said, “This moment reinforces that strong communities are built when residents feel secure in their homes, respected by their government, and confident that their voices matter.”

This decisive act sets Howard County apart from other local legislators in Maryland, such as those in Washington County, who’ve been reticent to speak about potential ICE detention centers in their communities.

However, the bill does nothing to address the possibility of federally-owned ICE detention centers in the county, like the one currently in the works in Hagerstown.

The passage of the bill earned praise and recognition from government officials throughout the state, including Gov. Moore, and garnered attention on a national level.

Both CB16-2026 and another piece of emergency immigration legislation in the central Maryland county, CB17-2026, took immediate effect on Friday.