Protest Targets ICE Use Of Howard County Detention Center

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — When Miriam Medina spoke at Sunday night's town hall meeting in Columbia, she talked about her husband while clutching her infant son. Her spouse is detained at the Howard County Detention Center, something she said is unfair.

"I wonder if Howard County were not making money from the contract with ICE, would my husband be home with us this evening? she asked.

More than 200 people from the community and different organizations gathered at the Oakland Mills Interfaith Center to rally in favor of the detention center's practice of renting bed space to ICE being halted, according to a press release from CASA. The town hall meeting was hosted by CASA and the Howard County Coalition for Immigration Justice. Former detainees and their families shared their personal stories from "unjust" jailing by ICE and their stay at the detention center.

ICE rents bed space in the Howard County Detention Center through an Intergovernmental Services Agreement for individuals being held in detention who are awaiting the outcome of their civil immigration proceedings. But this practice has come under increased scrutiny in recent months. Event attendees overwhelmingly spoke in support of the call to end the bed rental contract with ICE.

"We know that the stories heard tonight are only a few of the many, many families who have suffered needless detention, and we know that under the Trump administration our families are being targeted like never before,” said CASA Executive Director, Gustavo Torres. “We are calling on our local elected officials to cancel the contract with ICE. It’s clear that Howard County residents do not want to be associated with an agency with such a record of human and civil rights abuses."

During the event, CASA and Howard County Coalition for Immigration Justice leaders called on the community to contact Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and their County Council members to urge them to cancel the IGSA agreement and sign a petition in support of that position. The petition can be accessed at https://jufj.org/hoco-ice/.