Maryland Detention Centers 101
By Madhvi Bahl and Nic Galloway
There are five migrant detention centers in the DC, Maryland and Virginia area, three of which are in Maryland, located in Frederick, Howard, and Worcester counties. These county officials profiteer off the unethical detention of migrants, bringing in millions of dollars a year at the expense of our community members. All three MD detention centers are county jails that detain people on behalf of ICE through an intergovernmental services agreement (IGSA). Get to know the detention centers in our backyards, and join us in ending ICE detention in Maryland! Tell Frederick, Howard, and Worcester county officials to #FreeThemAll!
Frederick County Detention Center
The Frederick county detention center detains an average of 40 people for ICE at any given time. It is operated through an IGSA with the sheriff’s office that began in 2008. ICE pays Frederick County $83 per day per person they detain, averaging at approximately 1.3 million dollars a year.
Frederick County also participates in the 287(g) program through which ICE can deputize local law enforcement to enforce immigration law.
Get involved in Frederick County:
- RISE Coalition of Western Maryland
- Concerned Taxpayers of Frederick County
Howard County Detention Center
The Howard county detention center is located in Jessup and operated through an IGSA with the department of corrections that began in 1995. They detain an average of 70 people for ICE at any given time. ICE pays Howard County $110 per day per person they detain, averaging at approximately 2 million dollars a year.
In April, a court ordered the release of a detained individual after a nurse at the facility tested positive for COVID.
EDIT: On March 23rd, 2021, after intense pressure from activists and the passage of the Dignity Not Detention Act in the House of Delegates, County Executive Calvin Ball ordered the termination of the county’s detention contract!
Get involved in Howard County:
Worcester County Detention Center
The Worcester county detention center is located in Snowhill and operated through an IGSA with the sheriff’s office that began in 2017. It is the largest of the three detention centers and detains an average of 160 people for ICE at any given time. ICE pays Worcester County $87.11 per day per person they detain, averaging at approximately 4 million dollars a year. In May, a court ordered the release of two detained people after three people were suspected to have COVID in the facility, even though they refused to test them.
Worcester County Detention Center is the only facility in Maryland that detains women.
Get involved in Worcester County:
- Lower Shore Progressive Caucus
- Indivisible Worcester County
Potential Detention Center in Sudlersville
In April 2019, ICE advertised that it was seeking to open a detention center to incarcerate 600–800 people within 50 miles of Baltimore. Immigration Centers of America (ICA), the private prison company that operates Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, lobbied the town of Sudlersville for permission to build a detention center. In May 2020, town commissioners voted to change the town’s zoning ordinance to allow for the potential construction of a private detention center, despite overwhelming opposition voiced in testimonies shared during public hearings. At the moment, plans for a new facility are on hold, but ICA may still try to open a detention center in the region in the near future. ICA-Farmville has a long and dark history of abuse and neglect revealed by recent FOIA documents and was also the site of a massive COVID-19 outbreak this summer.
Take Action!
In Howard County, CB-51 was introduced by Councilmember Liz Walsh, which would eliminate the county’s IGSA contract with ICE. You can view this link for a list of actions you can take to end detention in Howard County, including contacting legislators and guidance on testimony.
The Dignity Not Detention Act will be reintroduced in the state legislature in 2021 after falling just short of a floor vote last year. This bill would: 1) Phase out all three existing IGSA contracts in Maryland and permanently ban them, and 2) Ban the construction of private detention facilities. This bill would effectively end private and proposed detention expansion plans in Maryland. Follow organizations such as Sanctuary DMV, Jews United for Justice, Congregation Action Network, CASA, and Maryland Against ICE Detention for updates leading up to the 2021 session on how you can help the bill pass.
Madhvi Bahl is an organizer with @SanctuaryDMV and an editor for Up, Up, with Liberation! She spends her days moving clear liquids between tiny tubes for science.
Nic Galloway is an organizer with @SanctuaryDMV and the Maryland Against ICE Detention coalition, and is also an editor for Up, Up with Liberation! He is a delivery guy.
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