Bill to ban private detention centers introduced in Baltimore City Council

A bill that would ban private detention centers in Baltimore was introduced in the city council, leaders said Monday. 

On Monday evening, the council is expected to discuss this and multiple other bills introduced with the goal of protecting the civil rights of Baltimore residents, Council President Zeke Cohen said. 

According to Cohen, the majority of immigrants who are detained in the U.S. are held in facilities operated by private corporations. 

"Baltimore cannot control what Washington does, but we can control what happens within our own city," Cohen said in a statement. "This legislation ensures that no private detention facility will be built on Baltimore soil to warehouse our neighbors.

WJZ has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for comment. 

Some counties in Maryland have introduced similar measures amid an increase in federal immigration enforcement activity. 

In early February, a law went into effect in Howard County that bans private detention centers following an emergency bill that moved quickly through the legislative process. 

Baltimore County also passed an emergency bill in February, banning private detention facilities after the U.S. General Services Administration leased office space in Cockeysville. 

On Monday evening, the council will discuss the potential bill, titled Baltimore City Policies and Procedures – Safe Spaces and Communities. 

If passed, the bill would require city agencies to create a plan to limit immigration enforcement activities from taking place in city-owned or operated spaces, including offices, buildings, schools, libraries and parks.

The bill was introduced by Councilmembers Odette Ramos, Paris Gray and Mark Parker, and co-sponsored by Council President Cohen. 

"What is happening to our Latine and immigrant neighbors right now is a moral crisis, and it demands an urgent and honest response," Ramos said in a statement. "Families in this city are being torn apart. Parents are afraid to bring their children to school. This is the reality of what federal enforcement looks like on the ground in Baltimore, and we refuse to normalize the daily terrorization of immigrants."

The Public Safety Committee will hold a hearing for the bill on Tuesday, March 10, at 1 p.m.