Prince George’s County Executive Braveboy Signs Order Banning ICE Detention Centers

Prince George’s County Executive Aisha N. Braveboy signed Executive Order No. 9-2026 on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, establishing an immediate moratorium on any proposal seeking to use any property in Prince George’s County as a detention center and directing county permitting authorities to stop processing related applications. The order instructs the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement to withhold occupancy permits tied to detention facilities and halts county consideration of new use-and-occupancy filings for those purposes.

The executive order defines detention centers as “any secure facility that requires the occupants to be held under restraint or security on a temporary basis” pending a hearing or trial. The order’s text, cited at the signing, explicitly bars the county government from “accepting, considering, processing, or reviewing use and occupancy permits for detention facilities,” a clause county officials say takes effect immediately while they draft parallel legislation for the County Council.

Braveboy unveiled implementation steps aimed at signaling protection for immigrant communities: the county will post a new logo across county-run government buildings, garages and parking lots and install large bilingual signs in English and Spanish, county aides say, with signage expected to start going up in about two weeks. “We are taking decisive action to protect our diversity and those residents who chose to call America and Prince George’s County home,” Braveboy said. “So that everyone understands that this is a safe space in Prince George’s County.”

At the signing ceremony Braveboy was flanked by U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey and County Council Chair Krystal Oriadha along with members of the County Council, representatives from We Are CASA and municipal leaders. “I think it’s critical for us to understand that we’ve got to fight back and we’ve got to win,” Rep. Ivey said at the event, adding, “The target has already been on our back, since Jan. 20 of last year.”

The order arrives amid a broader state and regional response to recent federal activity: Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown filed a lawsuit seeking to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement from converting a large warehouse in Williamsport, Washington County, into a detention facility, and Howard County recently rejected a proposed privately run immigrant detention center in Elkridge. Braveboy told officials she will seek to have the executive order drafted into legislation and passed by the County Council to solidify the moratorium.

The White House pushed back with an emailed statement from spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, calling the move a product of “dangerous, untrue smears by elected Democrats” and alleging a “1,300% increase in assaults on ICE officers.” Local reaction on social media was immediate: an Instagram post by user lioneldonovan3 said Braveboy joined a Hyattsville protest a few hours before the signing, and commenters ranged from “I WAS PART OF THIS” to warnings that federal authority could supersede local limits.

Braveboy’s office has tied the moratorium to protecting county residents and establishing county properties as safe spaces; the county’s next steps include rolling out signage in roughly two weeks and guiding the executive order through the County Council for potential legislation and legal review.