Bill Would Impose Higher Tax Rates On Proposed Elkridge ICE Facility

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Leaders proposed legislation last week that would give Howard County the authority to impose higher property taxes on facilities used for secure confinement, which includes the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility under construction in Elkridge.

The proposal comes after a federal judge reinstated building permits that Howard County officials had attempted to revoke, which allows the controversial project to move forward.

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County leaders had approved emergency legislation that would have withdrawn the permit for the proposed 29,000-square-foot ICE facility in an Elkridge office park. The facility would include a holding cell for immigrant detainees.

However, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson wrote in an email provided to Maryland Matters Thursday that "no tax will stop ICE from deporting criminal illegal aliens to make Maryland safe again."

Democratic State Senator Clarence Lam and Delegate Gabriel Moreno are proposing the legislation. Supporters of the legislation say the facility could place additional demands on local police, emergency services and infrastructure, and that Howard County taxpayers should not be responsible for covering those costs, according to reports.

However, critics question whether the proposed tax could ultimately backfire.

"Since Howard County had no say in ICE's decision to move here, we don't believe that Howard County taxpayers should be footing the bill for their unwanted presence," Sen. Clarence Lam, D-Howard and Anne Arundel Counties, told WBAL.

Delegate Gabriel Moreno said in a statement that, "Our responsibility is not simply to respond to the presence of a detention facility, but to ensure that the public cost and human consequences of its operation are not ignored."

Dozens of community leaders and members from organizations like We Are CASA, Indivisible Howard County and St. John's Episcopal Church in Ellicott City joined Lam and Moreno in support of their efforts. We Are CASA's Maryland policy manager, Ninfa Amador-Hernandez, told Maryland Matters that the legislation is a key tool in the fight against the facility.

"The federal government plans to continue burdening our community, not just with their hatred and their infrastructure for their mass deportation and family separation agenda, but it will be hyper-able to do this with this detention center right here in our backyard," she told Maryland Matters.

However, the proposed legislation is just that - a proposal. Before Howard County could impose a higher tax on such structures, the measure would need to clear the required approval process involving the county's state legislative delegation and the Maryland General Assembly, according to Fox 45 News.