Maryland lawmakers propose tax hike for planned ICE facility in Elkridge amid community concerns
The latest legislative effort targeting a proposed ICE facility in Howard County aims to make the agency pay more in taxes amid concerns from the surrounding community.
A bill planned for Maryland's upcoming state legislative session would increase the tax rate for the facility. State Sen. Clarence Lam and Del. Gabriel Moreno are the bill's lead sponsors.
The proposed ICE facility in Elkridge has drawn attention for much of the year. Howard County officials revoked the building's permits in February, but a federal judge reinstated them in August.
Lam and Moreno said the legislation is not intended to prevent ICE from establishing a presence in Howard County, but to hold the agency accountable.
Explaining the bill
Since the public learned ICE was planning to move into a building off Meadowridge Road in Elkridge, many community members have voiced their opposition to the proposed facility.
We Are CASA policy manager and Howard County resident Ninfa Amador-Hernandez joined a crowd of advocates Thursday outside the George Howard Building in Ellicott City to speak out against the facility.
Amador-Hernandez attended school in Elkridge and said the proposed facility raises concerns about the impact on immigrant families and children.
"We know that children of immigrants are living under a constant amount of stress and trauma. This impacts their mental health, their ability to learn, their ability to be well, and to perform in school," Amador-Hernandez said.
With concerns about the facility continuing, Amador-Hernandez is supporting the new bill sponsored by Lam and Moreno.
If passed, the bill would classify privately owned detention facilities as "secure confinement facilities" and increase property and transfer tax rates for those facilities.
The Howard County Council would set the new rates, taking into account the potential demand on county services associated with the facilities.
"Taxpayers of Howard County should be able to hold property owners accountable for additional police, medical [services], or infrastructure needs that are needed," Lam said. "So nearby neighborhoods, businesses, schools and health care workers feel safe."
The bill must receive majority support from the Howard County delegation before it can advance to the General Assembly.
A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for Dec. 21 at the George Howard Building.
"Local residents deserve clear answers about how the facility will affect their neighborhoods," Moreno said. "While individuals held in detention deserve humane treatment, access to legal representation, and protection against abuses."
Addressing concerns
Lawyers for Genesis GSA Strategic One, the company developing the facility, have sought to address concerns about the project.
They have said the facility is intended to replace ICE's downtown Baltimore field office and that detention space would occupy less than 5% of the building. They have also said no one would stay overnight.
The federal government would take ownership of the facility after Genesis completes construction, according to Michael Edney, one of the company's lawyers.
Edney did not respond to WJZ's request for comment on this story.
WJZ also contacted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about the proposed legislation. The agency did not directly address the bill but said in a statement that there is a "coordinated campaign of violence" against ICE officers.
