Sponsors
This bill prioritizes local control and detainee welfare—giving communities and courts tools to block federal detention facilities in Washington County—but does so at the expense of federal detention flexibility, may shift detainees farther from supports, and could raise costs for taxpayers and agencies.
Residents of Washington County and local governments can block or prevent the siting or expansion of federal immigrant detention facilities in their community, preserving local planning priorities and preventing the burdens of hosting such facilities.
Local officials, the State, residents, and Members of Congress gain an enforceable legal mechanism (including court remedies and Congress's authority over federal funds/facilities) to prevent construction or operation of detention facilities.
Washington County and the State avoid direct costs and operational burdens associated with hosting federal detention facilities, reducing local fiscal and logistical impacts.
Federal agencies (DHS/ICE) could face reduced capacity or flexibility to detain and house noncitizens in the region, complicating immigration enforcement and emergency operations.
Taxpayers and federal agencies may incur higher administrative, logistical, or contractor costs if detentions must be arranged in more distant, specialized, or private facilities or if litigation increases.
Noncitizens who would otherwise be detained in Washington County may be sent farther from family, counsel, and community supports, making access to legal representation and family contact worse.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Bans DHS/ICE from creating, operating, expanding, or reopening immigration detention/holding facilities in Washington County, MD, and bars federal funds for those purposes.
Introduced February 10, 2026 by April McClain Delaney · Last progress February 10, 2026
Prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (including ICE) from establishing, operating, expanding, or reopening any immigration detention or holding facility in Washington County, Maryland, and bars federal funds from being obligated or spent for those purposes. It also allows specified parties (any resident of Washington County, the county government, any Member of Congress, or the State of Maryland) to sue in federal court to stop violations. The bill includes congressional findings about harms from immigration detention facilities to local communities and describes detention conditions and due-process concerns; it defines covered agencies and what counts as a detention or holding facility (including contractor-operated or privately run sites).