Howard Co. [Maryland] revokes building permit, introduces legislation to block proposed ICE detention center
Source: WTOP
Howard Co. revokes building permit, introduces legislation to block proposed ICE detention center
Neal Augenstein | naugenstein@wtop.com
February 3, 2026, 10:39 AM
Howard County, Maryland, has revoked the building permit for a private detention center that County Executive Calvin Ball said was going to be used by U.S. Immigration and Customs. And the county council has introduced emergency legislation to stop the project.
After a recent inspection and leasing advertisements for the proposed detention center, located at 6522 Meadowridge Road in Elkridge, the county determined “this privately owned building is intended for occupancy by ICE,” said Ball in a Monday news conference. ... “The retrofitting of a private office buildings for detention use without transparency, without input, without clear oversight, is deeply troubling,” Ball said. “In this case, the proposed detention center sits in an existing office park in close proximity to health care providers, schools, parks and neighborhoods.”
According to Ball, the county wasn’t aware of specific lease agreements or contracts between the building owner and any federal agency. ... The county’s director of inspections, licenses and permits and permits revoked the building permit, Ball said.
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Later, Monday, the Howard County Council introduced two pieces of emergency legislation aimed at preventing private entities, rather than government agencies, from operating detention centers in the county.
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Neal Augenstein
Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with WTOP since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.
naugenstein@wtop.com
@AugensteinWTOP
Read more: https://wtop.com/howard-county/2026/02/howard-co-revokes-building-permit-introduces-legislation-to-block-proposed-ice-detention-center/
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