3/27 - News Talk 103.7 reports "No matter what might be on social media, the city of Hagerstown has NOT been contacted about the processing center"
3/20 - Hagerstown Rapid Response reports "Doctors Are Sounding the Alarm on ICE Facility Near Hagerstown — and They’re Not Waiting to Be Heard"
3/19 - Project Salt Box reports "Breaking: Judge Extends Block on Maryland ICE Detention Facility, Setting Stage for April Showdown"
3/18 - Petition update from Hagerstown Rapid Response "
Washington County Govt Invited President Trump, VP JD Vance to Visit Hagerstown ICE Detention Center"
3/18 - Project Salt Box reports "$381 Million. That's What a Maryland County Wanted for Supporting an ICE Warehouse."
3/18 - Herald Mail reports "DOJ files status report to federal judge about Maryland ICE facility" in the NEWS ARCHIVE
3/18 - Herald Mail reports "Washington County relays info from DHS about ICE facility" in the NEWS ARCHIVE
3/17 - Project Salt Box reports "As A Maryland County Debates Who Pays for a Warehouse It Never Approved, a Community Leader Is Removed From the Podium"
3/14 - Project Salt Box reports "ICYMI: A Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks an ICE Detention Warehouse in Maryland" (a must-see 30-minute interview with Michael Wriston of Project Salt Box)
3/14 - Project Salt Box reports "After a DHS Warehouse Deal, a Fundrise Investor Asked Why"
3/13 - Radio Free Hub City reports "Delay, Deny, Defend – Washington County Constructively Denies Records on ICE Warehouse Sale"
3/12 - Project Salt Box reports "At a Warehouse With No Water Plan, Six Toilet Trailers Just Appeared"
3/12 - Project Salt Box reports "Federal Judge Halts Construction of Maryland ICE Detention Facility"
3/11 - Project Salt Box reports "How a Maryland Farm Became a Federal Detention Warehouse"
3/8 - Baltimore Banner reports "ICE awards $113 million to build out Hagerstown detention center" in the NEWS ARCHIVE
3/8 - Project Salt Box reports "A "Humanitarian Response" Firm With No Federal Contract History Is Staffing Planned Immigration Detention Center in Maryland"
3/6 - Project Salt Box reports "ICE's New Maryland Detention Center Would Need 209,000 Gallons of Water a Day. Nobody Knows Where It Will Come From."
3/1 - Bloomberg reports "Where the Trump Administration is Planning ICE Mega Jails" - includes info about the private companies vying for contracts to transform and operate these warehouses as jails.
2/28 - Project Salt Box reports "ICE Moves Minneapolis Fleet to Williamsport Detention Warehouse".
2/27 - Project Salt Box reports "Maryland House Passes Trio of Immigration Bills in Response to Federal Detention Push"
2/26 - Baltimore Sun reports "Maryland House passes bills to hamper immigration detention facilities" in the NEWS ARCHIVE
2/25 - Excellent Herald-Mail article, "What does Maryland lawsuit against Homeland Security, ICE ask for?" in the NEWS ARCHIVE
2/23 - Dan Rodricks Commentary "Supporting ICE and the immigrant purge: A statement of a Maryland county's values?"
2/23 - Project Salt Box reports "Maryland Sues to Stop ICE Detention Center, Escalating Fight Over Secretive Federal Purchase" (See MD Attorney General's press release)
2/21 - WYPR News reports "Residents in Maryland’s conservative Washington County push back against ICE facility"
2/18 - Video clip from the 2/17/26 Hagerstown City Council work session discussing supplying water to the ICE facility
2/6 - John Barr Speaks! (but not at a public meeting) see the video with commentary
1/29 - The January 14, 2026, letter to the Historic District Commission, Washington County Planning and Zoning Department from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
1/28 - Washington County Statement on U.S. Department of Homeland Security Notice Concerning Proposed ICE Facility
3/20 - Hagerstown Rapid Response reports "Doctors Are Sounding the Alarm on ICE Facility Near Hagerstown — and They’re Not Waiting to Be Heard"
3/19 - Project Salt Box reports "Breaking: Judge Extends Block on Maryland ICE Detention Facility, Setting Stage for April Showdown"
3/18 - Petition update from Hagerstown Rapid Response "
Washington County Govt Invited President Trump, VP JD Vance to Visit Hagerstown ICE Detention Center"
3/18 - Project Salt Box reports "$381 Million. That's What a Maryland County Wanted for Supporting an ICE Warehouse."
3/18 - Herald Mail reports "DOJ files status report to federal judge about Maryland ICE facility" in the NEWS ARCHIVE
3/18 - Herald Mail reports "Washington County relays info from DHS about ICE facility" in the NEWS ARCHIVE
3/17 - Project Salt Box reports "As A Maryland County Debates Who Pays for a Warehouse It Never Approved, a Community Leader Is Removed From the Podium"
3/14 - Project Salt Box reports "ICYMI: A Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks an ICE Detention Warehouse in Maryland" (a must-see 30-minute interview with Michael Wriston of Project Salt Box)
3/14 - Project Salt Box reports "After a DHS Warehouse Deal, a Fundrise Investor Asked Why"
3/13 - Radio Free Hub City reports "Delay, Deny, Defend – Washington County Constructively Denies Records on ICE Warehouse Sale"
3/12 - Project Salt Box reports "At a Warehouse With No Water Plan, Six Toilet Trailers Just Appeared"
3/12 - Project Salt Box reports "Federal Judge Halts Construction of Maryland ICE Detention Facility"
3/11 - Project Salt Box reports "How a Maryland Farm Became a Federal Detention Warehouse"
3/8 - Baltimore Banner reports "ICE awards $113 million to build out Hagerstown detention center" in the NEWS ARCHIVE
3/8 - Project Salt Box reports "A "Humanitarian Response" Firm With No Federal Contract History Is Staffing Planned Immigration Detention Center in Maryland"
3/6 - Project Salt Box reports "ICE's New Maryland Detention Center Would Need 209,000 Gallons of Water a Day. Nobody Knows Where It Will Come From."
3/1 - Bloomberg reports "Where the Trump Administration is Planning ICE Mega Jails" - includes info about the private companies vying for contracts to transform and operate these warehouses as jails.
2/28 - Project Salt Box reports "ICE Moves Minneapolis Fleet to Williamsport Detention Warehouse".
2/27 - Project Salt Box reports "Maryland House Passes Trio of Immigration Bills in Response to Federal Detention Push"
2/26 - Baltimore Sun reports "Maryland House passes bills to hamper immigration detention facilities" in the NEWS ARCHIVE
2/25 - Excellent Herald-Mail article, "What does Maryland lawsuit against Homeland Security, ICE ask for?" in the NEWS ARCHIVE
2/23 - Dan Rodricks Commentary "Supporting ICE and the immigrant purge: A statement of a Maryland county's values?"
2/23 - Project Salt Box reports "Maryland Sues to Stop ICE Detention Center, Escalating Fight Over Secretive Federal Purchase" (See MD Attorney General's press release)
2/21 - WYPR News reports "Residents in Maryland’s conservative Washington County push back against ICE facility"
2/18 - Video clip from the 2/17/26 Hagerstown City Council work session discussing supplying water to the ICE facility
2/6 - John Barr Speaks! (but not at a public meeting) see the video with commentary
1/29 - The January 14, 2026, letter to the Historic District Commission, Washington County Planning and Zoning Department from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
1/28 - Washington County Statement on U.S. Department of Homeland Security Notice Concerning Proposed ICE Facility
IMMIGRATION WATCH:
HAGERSTOWN WAREHOUSE INTO ICE FACILITY
NEWS ARCHIVE
Added 4/16/26
|
Judge grants injunction on planned ICE facility, some work to continue |
Julie E. Greene
The Herald-Mail
April 15, 2026, 3:51 p.m. ET
Key Points
The decision came at the end of a roughly two-hour hearing in U.S. District Court in downtown Baltimore to hear arguments about the state’s request for the preliminary injunction. The state is suing the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to prevent the warehouse near Williamsport from being transformed into an immigrant detention facility.
The federal government bought the roughly 54-acre site along Hopewell and Wright roads near Williamsport in January. The $102.4 million purchase includes a 825,620-square-foot mega-warehouse that is part of the Trump Administration’s plan to convert warehouses into processing facilities for undocumented immigrants.
Steven Goldstein, special assistant to Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, told the judge that DHS and ICE were on the "verge of conducting a dangerous experiment" by turning the vacant warehouse into a major detention facility. He noted ICE's completion date was to be May 4.
The judge, last month, issued a temporary restraining order and then extended it until the hearing on the preliminary injunction could be heard.
Hundreds of people rallied outside the West Lombard Street courthouse Wednesday morning in opposition of ICE, including the move to convert the 16220 Wright Road warehouse into an ICE detention facility. The crowd included people from Baltimore and Washington and Frederick counties.
The rally was announced by the ACLU of Maryland and included a speaker from We Are Casa.
State's concerns include environment, health impacts
Among the concerns of the state and other opponents to the project are environmental and health impacts. The state argues that the facility’s sewer infrastructure is not suitable for 542 detainees, let alone the 1,500-detainee capacity federal officials are exploring. The facility is near a stream that feeds into the Conococheague Creek and then the Potomac River, where there are aquatic species in need of protection, state officials have said.
To that end, the Maryland Department of Environment issued an administrative order earlier this week to Washington County government regarding its Wright Road sewage pumping station. The order states the pumping station doesn’t have the capacity to handle operation of a detention facility and that the county’s water and sewer plan is out of date. The plan’s last comprehensive update was in 2009 and should have had a comprehensive update by 2019, the order states.
The state environment department ordered the county to submit a comprehensive revision to the plan, including “data-driven capacity analysis for the infrastructure that will be impacted by the proposed Warehouse.”
The county is not to allocate, authorize or facilitate any increase in sewage flow to the Wright Road pumping station beyond the 2 EDUS (400 gallons) currently available unless state environmental officials authorize that kind of work due to a public health emergency.
County officials can’t allocate more sewage to that pumping station until an updated water and sewer plan is approved and needed physical improvements are done, the order states.
County spokesperson Danielle Weaver, in an April 14 email, said the county does not comment on legal matters.
County officials have 10 days from when the administrative order was served to file a review through Washington County Circuit Court if they think the order is unlawful or unreasonable, the order states.
Justice Department Attorney Hayley Carpenter told Judge Brendan Abell Hurson that, per the MDE order, nothing would happen for awhile to improve the facility's sewer capacity because the county first has to amend its water and sewer plan.
"So that means no detention center until that ... state process runs its course?" Hurson asked.
"Yes, your honor," Carpenter replied.
"Even if it takes years," asked the judge, a Biden appointee.
"Yes, your honor," Carpenter said.
Written order from judge expected soon
Hurson said he would aim to issue a written order by Friday, April 17, but told the state and Department of Justice attorneys that he found the state has legal standing to bring the lawsuit.
Hurson said he appreciated as “genuine” the sentiment that the state and federal agencies will work together on certain matters in the case, but that it is “reasonable to expect that allegedly wrongful behavior here could recur.”
Even with federal attorneys confirming plans to do further environmental assessments of the project’s potential impact, Hurson said the lawsuit was “ripe.”
Hurson found the state met the burden needed for the preliminary injunction.
The preliminary injunction prevents federal officials and its contractor from retrofitting the warehouse and operating it as a detention facility.
However, Hurson said work could be done inside and outside to make repairs and provide security.
DOJ attorney says security measures needed now
Department of Justice attorney Sean Duffy told Hurson that vandalism had occurred at the Wright Road facility and arson has occurred at other facilities, so the federal government is “keen to get the facility secured.”
That includes perimeter fencing though Hurson said he hopes the state and federal government can reach an agreement by Friday on the particulars of that fencing and he would address it in his written opinion.
Duffy described the fencing as permanent security fencing that would be 8 feet high.
Goldstein said permanent fencing could disturb the ground.
The judge agreed to fencing for property protection, not fencing geared toward operating a detention facility.
State attorneys expressed concerns that fencing and other measures could be steps toward retrofitting the warehouse for detention.
Hurson made clear the permitted work is not for detention purposes but to repair leaks, add security measures and knock out drywall to create office space for employees.
Carpenter said she also believed the building is to be used for training in addition to detention and administrative offices.
Reaction from those who attended hearing
Over 60 people gathered in the courtroom gallery to listen to the arguments and judge's questions, including several people who traveled from Washington County for the hearing.
Taj Smith, president of the Washington County NAACP unit, said after the hearing that "anything that stalls or stops this detention center from coming to Washington County is a win for us." Smith also is running for Washington County commissioner.
The local NAACP was among several local individuals and groups to file a joint "friend of the court" brief in support of the state's motion for a preliminary injunction.
Joyce Shull, of Hagerstown, said she was "thrilled" at the judge's decision and said the judge asked great questions.
Hurson questioned federal attorneys about the thoroughness of federal work in determining the project had categorical exemptions from needing a more thorough National Environmental Policy Act analysis.
He noted that the federal Record of Environmental Consideration the federal government filed for the project was prepared, in environmental review, in senior environmental review, in proponent review and approved all on the same day - Jan. 15.
"Now look, that's some serious governmental efficiency," Hurson said.
He added he wasn't mad about government efficiency, but said that all appeared to have occurred one day before the federal government spent over $100 million on the property.
Carpenter said she imagined the environmental review was finalized on Jan. 15, not that the review was begun and finished on that day.
Dr. Jennifer Janus, of downtown Hagerstown, said after the hearing she was pleased with the court's decision.
Janus is a member of Washington County Indivisible and Hagerstown Rapid Response, local grassroots efforts that oppose the immigration detention center project.
Janus is one of over 50 healthcare professionals who signed a letter opposing the renovation of the warehouse into a detention facility and citing concerns about public health, noting "crowded and squalid conditions" would increase the risk of infectious diseases. Janus said she wrote that letter, which is one of the documents filed in the state's lawsuit.
Janus said she was glad to hear the recognition of real safety and environmental concerns with the Williamsport-area facility that haven't been addressed yet.
"People may not realize that (the project could) affect the health of the community, not just the detainees," she said before the hearing. Her concerns include the effect the facility could have on local emergency services.
Shull said she went to the hearing in Baltimore to support her friend, Smith, and because she doesn't want the ICE facility in Washington County.
Her concerns about the project include the cost and the "terrible treatment" of people by ICE, who she said is not just trying to "deport the worst of the worst." Shull is a member of the local NAACP unit, the Washington County Democratic Central Committee and Washington County Indivisible.
The latter group has organized several protests and rallies in recent months against the local ICE facility, with many of the protests outside the county administrative building during county commissioner meetings.
The commissioners have taken heat from several community members over their Feb. 10 4-0 vote to approve a resolution in support of DHS, ICE and local law enforcement. The vote was met by a chorus of boos from the meeting room gallery.
Dale Stein said she and her husband, Dominic Ambrosi, traveled from Hagerstown to support the attorney general's office in the fight to prevent the warehouse conversion or any such detention center in Washington County or anywhere in the U.S.
Her main concerns, Stein said, include the "overreach of the law" and the inhumanity.
After the hearing, Stein called the judge "brilliant" and said she was "greatly encouraged.
The Herald-Mail
April 15, 2026, 3:51 p.m. ET
Key Points
- A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction, temporarily stopping the conversion of a Maryland warehouse into an immigrant detention facility.
- The state of Maryland sued federal agencies, citing environmental and health concerns over the proposed 1,500-detainee facility.
- The judge's order allows for security upgrades and repairs at the site but prohibits retrofitting for detention purposes.
The decision came at the end of a roughly two-hour hearing in U.S. District Court in downtown Baltimore to hear arguments about the state’s request for the preliminary injunction. The state is suing the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to prevent the warehouse near Williamsport from being transformed into an immigrant detention facility.
The federal government bought the roughly 54-acre site along Hopewell and Wright roads near Williamsport in January. The $102.4 million purchase includes a 825,620-square-foot mega-warehouse that is part of the Trump Administration’s plan to convert warehouses into processing facilities for undocumented immigrants.
Steven Goldstein, special assistant to Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, told the judge that DHS and ICE were on the "verge of conducting a dangerous experiment" by turning the vacant warehouse into a major detention facility. He noted ICE's completion date was to be May 4.
The judge, last month, issued a temporary restraining order and then extended it until the hearing on the preliminary injunction could be heard.
Hundreds of people rallied outside the West Lombard Street courthouse Wednesday morning in opposition of ICE, including the move to convert the 16220 Wright Road warehouse into an ICE detention facility. The crowd included people from Baltimore and Washington and Frederick counties.
The rally was announced by the ACLU of Maryland and included a speaker from We Are Casa.
State's concerns include environment, health impacts
Among the concerns of the state and other opponents to the project are environmental and health impacts. The state argues that the facility’s sewer infrastructure is not suitable for 542 detainees, let alone the 1,500-detainee capacity federal officials are exploring. The facility is near a stream that feeds into the Conococheague Creek and then the Potomac River, where there are aquatic species in need of protection, state officials have said.
To that end, the Maryland Department of Environment issued an administrative order earlier this week to Washington County government regarding its Wright Road sewage pumping station. The order states the pumping station doesn’t have the capacity to handle operation of a detention facility and that the county’s water and sewer plan is out of date. The plan’s last comprehensive update was in 2009 and should have had a comprehensive update by 2019, the order states.
The state environment department ordered the county to submit a comprehensive revision to the plan, including “data-driven capacity analysis for the infrastructure that will be impacted by the proposed Warehouse.”
The county is not to allocate, authorize or facilitate any increase in sewage flow to the Wright Road pumping station beyond the 2 EDUS (400 gallons) currently available unless state environmental officials authorize that kind of work due to a public health emergency.
County officials can’t allocate more sewage to that pumping station until an updated water and sewer plan is approved and needed physical improvements are done, the order states.
County spokesperson Danielle Weaver, in an April 14 email, said the county does not comment on legal matters.
County officials have 10 days from when the administrative order was served to file a review through Washington County Circuit Court if they think the order is unlawful or unreasonable, the order states.
Justice Department Attorney Hayley Carpenter told Judge Brendan Abell Hurson that, per the MDE order, nothing would happen for awhile to improve the facility's sewer capacity because the county first has to amend its water and sewer plan.
"So that means no detention center until that ... state process runs its course?" Hurson asked.
"Yes, your honor," Carpenter replied.
"Even if it takes years," asked the judge, a Biden appointee.
"Yes, your honor," Carpenter said.
Written order from judge expected soon
Hurson said he would aim to issue a written order by Friday, April 17, but told the state and Department of Justice attorneys that he found the state has legal standing to bring the lawsuit.
Hurson said he appreciated as “genuine” the sentiment that the state and federal agencies will work together on certain matters in the case, but that it is “reasonable to expect that allegedly wrongful behavior here could recur.”
Even with federal attorneys confirming plans to do further environmental assessments of the project’s potential impact, Hurson said the lawsuit was “ripe.”
Hurson found the state met the burden needed for the preliminary injunction.
The preliminary injunction prevents federal officials and its contractor from retrofitting the warehouse and operating it as a detention facility.
However, Hurson said work could be done inside and outside to make repairs and provide security.
DOJ attorney says security measures needed now
Department of Justice attorney Sean Duffy told Hurson that vandalism had occurred at the Wright Road facility and arson has occurred at other facilities, so the federal government is “keen to get the facility secured.”
That includes perimeter fencing though Hurson said he hopes the state and federal government can reach an agreement by Friday on the particulars of that fencing and he would address it in his written opinion.
Duffy described the fencing as permanent security fencing that would be 8 feet high.
Goldstein said permanent fencing could disturb the ground.
The judge agreed to fencing for property protection, not fencing geared toward operating a detention facility.
State attorneys expressed concerns that fencing and other measures could be steps toward retrofitting the warehouse for detention.
Hurson made clear the permitted work is not for detention purposes but to repair leaks, add security measures and knock out drywall to create office space for employees.
Carpenter said she also believed the building is to be used for training in addition to detention and administrative offices.
Reaction from those who attended hearing
Over 60 people gathered in the courtroom gallery to listen to the arguments and judge's questions, including several people who traveled from Washington County for the hearing.
Taj Smith, president of the Washington County NAACP unit, said after the hearing that "anything that stalls or stops this detention center from coming to Washington County is a win for us." Smith also is running for Washington County commissioner.
The local NAACP was among several local individuals and groups to file a joint "friend of the court" brief in support of the state's motion for a preliminary injunction.
Joyce Shull, of Hagerstown, said she was "thrilled" at the judge's decision and said the judge asked great questions.
Hurson questioned federal attorneys about the thoroughness of federal work in determining the project had categorical exemptions from needing a more thorough National Environmental Policy Act analysis.
He noted that the federal Record of Environmental Consideration the federal government filed for the project was prepared, in environmental review, in senior environmental review, in proponent review and approved all on the same day - Jan. 15.
"Now look, that's some serious governmental efficiency," Hurson said.
He added he wasn't mad about government efficiency, but said that all appeared to have occurred one day before the federal government spent over $100 million on the property.
Carpenter said she imagined the environmental review was finalized on Jan. 15, not that the review was begun and finished on that day.
Dr. Jennifer Janus, of downtown Hagerstown, said after the hearing she was pleased with the court's decision.
Janus is a member of Washington County Indivisible and Hagerstown Rapid Response, local grassroots efforts that oppose the immigration detention center project.
Janus is one of over 50 healthcare professionals who signed a letter opposing the renovation of the warehouse into a detention facility and citing concerns about public health, noting "crowded and squalid conditions" would increase the risk of infectious diseases. Janus said she wrote that letter, which is one of the documents filed in the state's lawsuit.
Janus said she was glad to hear the recognition of real safety and environmental concerns with the Williamsport-area facility that haven't been addressed yet.
"People may not realize that (the project could) affect the health of the community, not just the detainees," she said before the hearing. Her concerns include the effect the facility could have on local emergency services.
Shull said she went to the hearing in Baltimore to support her friend, Smith, and because she doesn't want the ICE facility in Washington County.
Her concerns about the project include the cost and the "terrible treatment" of people by ICE, who she said is not just trying to "deport the worst of the worst." Shull is a member of the local NAACP unit, the Washington County Democratic Central Committee and Washington County Indivisible.
The latter group has organized several protests and rallies in recent months against the local ICE facility, with many of the protests outside the county administrative building during county commissioner meetings.
The commissioners have taken heat from several community members over their Feb. 10 4-0 vote to approve a resolution in support of DHS, ICE and local law enforcement. The vote was met by a chorus of boos from the meeting room gallery.
Dale Stein said she and her husband, Dominic Ambrosi, traveled from Hagerstown to support the attorney general's office in the fight to prevent the warehouse conversion or any such detention center in Washington County or anywhere in the U.S.
Her main concerns, Stein said, include the "overreach of the law" and the inhumanity.
After the hearing, Stein called the judge "brilliant" and said she was "greatly encouraged.
Added 4/16/26
|
Washington County ICE facility construction limited by federal judge |
Daniel Zawodny
4/15/2026 10:54 a.m. EDT, Updated 4/15/2026 7:16 p.m. EDT
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot proceed with retrofitting a warehouse in Western Maryland into a detention facility, pending further court proceedings, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson cited “internal inconsistencies” in the federal government’s report concerning possible environmental impacts on the surrounding area and concluded federal officials should have conducted a more comprehensive analysis before proceeding with their plans.
Hurson’s injunction prohibits building and operating detention space inside the facility while awaiting further arguments in the federal court case. But the ruling allows ICE to proceed with certain construction activities, such as erecting an 8-foot security fence around the property, installing security cameras, fixing the HVAC system and creating office space.
The ruling came as Hurson’s previous stop-work order barring construction at the site was set to expire.
In a statement, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown called the ruling a “major victory that stops federal authorities from irreversibly damaging our waterways, our environment, and our communities before our lawsuit is even decided.
“And it ensures that the federal government cannot rush through the legal process required to open this facility in its frenzy to carry out its deportation goals,” Brown continued.
At least 200 people rallied outside the courthouse before the hearing, denouncing ICE with chants and signs. A choir led the crowd in protest songs as more people arrived in the courtyard. The George H. Fallon building — the site of Baltimore’s controversial ICE hold room — loomed across the street.
“We will not let ICE treat our people like goods,” said Ama Frimpong, chief of services for We Are CASA, the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Maryland.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, purchased the unoccupied, 825,620-square-foot warehouse designed for commercial goods on the outskirts of Williamsport in January. It was one of several similar properties the agency purchased around the country to speed up President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport alleged undocumented immigrants by retrofitting existing buildings into detention centers.
In February, Brown sued to stop the conversion on environmental and public health grounds, alleging DHS rushed through the sale without conducting sufficient analysis of its environmental impact.
In court filings, Brown’s office requested Hurson continue to bar construction at the site until a trial on the larger issues under the National Environmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedures Act can be held.
Local officials and advocacy groups, including City Council members from Hagerstown and local chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP, added their opposition. They argued in part that the proposed detention center threatens to overwhelm local infrastructure and harm Washington County economically.
U.S. Justice Department attorneys challenged Brown’s claims of environmental harm as “far too speculative” and argued the temporary stop-work order prevented DHS from taking basic steps to protect the property, such as adding the security system and making HVAC and roof repairs.
Agency officials acknowledged the ultimate goal for the site includes detention space but wrote that ICE is not “imminently pursuing” the retrofitting work and plans to conduct additional environmental analysis before moving forward.
As arguments got underway, Hurson indicated the court could grant the state’s request to maintain its bar on retrofitting the property into a detention facility while allowing ICE to make those basic improvements to protect the property.
ICE claimed the project was exempt from more in-depth environmental analyses required under NEPA because the proposed changes were minor and would not overtax local infrastructure.
But Hurson asked who at DHS made the determinations about traffic impacts and sewer infrastructure, as well as how and when they conducted the review. Justice Department attorneys couldn’t say. Hurson alluded to what appeared to be a rushed timeline, citing dates provided in the Record of Environmental Consideration that indicate the document was reviewed and approved just one day before the $102 million sale.
“That’s some serious government efficiency,” Hurson quipped.
Initial reports indicated ICE planned the site for 1,500 beds. However, agency officials have said they would limit capacity to 542 people and commit to additional environmental analyses before scaling up to 1,500.
Hurson, however, suggested that position could represent an admission that DHS should have conducted a comprehensive review in the first place.
The state threw another wrench into ICE’s plans Monday. The Department of the Environment issued an administrative order to Washington County barring it from granting additional wastewater permits for the site, writing in court papers that the surrounding sewer system cannot handle the increased demand of hundreds of detainees, a claim ICE disputes. The county must update its comprehensive water and sewer plan before it can issue such allowances, according to the order.
4/15/2026 10:54 a.m. EDT, Updated 4/15/2026 7:16 p.m. EDT
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot proceed with retrofitting a warehouse in Western Maryland into a detention facility, pending further court proceedings, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson cited “internal inconsistencies” in the federal government’s report concerning possible environmental impacts on the surrounding area and concluded federal officials should have conducted a more comprehensive analysis before proceeding with their plans.
Hurson’s injunction prohibits building and operating detention space inside the facility while awaiting further arguments in the federal court case. But the ruling allows ICE to proceed with certain construction activities, such as erecting an 8-foot security fence around the property, installing security cameras, fixing the HVAC system and creating office space.
The ruling came as Hurson’s previous stop-work order barring construction at the site was set to expire.
In a statement, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown called the ruling a “major victory that stops federal authorities from irreversibly damaging our waterways, our environment, and our communities before our lawsuit is even decided.
“And it ensures that the federal government cannot rush through the legal process required to open this facility in its frenzy to carry out its deportation goals,” Brown continued.
At least 200 people rallied outside the courthouse before the hearing, denouncing ICE with chants and signs. A choir led the crowd in protest songs as more people arrived in the courtyard. The George H. Fallon building — the site of Baltimore’s controversial ICE hold room — loomed across the street.
“We will not let ICE treat our people like goods,” said Ama Frimpong, chief of services for We Are CASA, the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Maryland.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, purchased the unoccupied, 825,620-square-foot warehouse designed for commercial goods on the outskirts of Williamsport in January. It was one of several similar properties the agency purchased around the country to speed up President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport alleged undocumented immigrants by retrofitting existing buildings into detention centers.
In February, Brown sued to stop the conversion on environmental and public health grounds, alleging DHS rushed through the sale without conducting sufficient analysis of its environmental impact.
In court filings, Brown’s office requested Hurson continue to bar construction at the site until a trial on the larger issues under the National Environmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedures Act can be held.
Local officials and advocacy groups, including City Council members from Hagerstown and local chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP, added their opposition. They argued in part that the proposed detention center threatens to overwhelm local infrastructure and harm Washington County economically.
U.S. Justice Department attorneys challenged Brown’s claims of environmental harm as “far too speculative” and argued the temporary stop-work order prevented DHS from taking basic steps to protect the property, such as adding the security system and making HVAC and roof repairs.
Agency officials acknowledged the ultimate goal for the site includes detention space but wrote that ICE is not “imminently pursuing” the retrofitting work and plans to conduct additional environmental analysis before moving forward.
As arguments got underway, Hurson indicated the court could grant the state’s request to maintain its bar on retrofitting the property into a detention facility while allowing ICE to make those basic improvements to protect the property.
ICE claimed the project was exempt from more in-depth environmental analyses required under NEPA because the proposed changes were minor and would not overtax local infrastructure.
But Hurson asked who at DHS made the determinations about traffic impacts and sewer infrastructure, as well as how and when they conducted the review. Justice Department attorneys couldn’t say. Hurson alluded to what appeared to be a rushed timeline, citing dates provided in the Record of Environmental Consideration that indicate the document was reviewed and approved just one day before the $102 million sale.
“That’s some serious government efficiency,” Hurson quipped.
Initial reports indicated ICE planned the site for 1,500 beds. However, agency officials have said they would limit capacity to 542 people and commit to additional environmental analyses before scaling up to 1,500.
Hurson, however, suggested that position could represent an admission that DHS should have conducted a comprehensive review in the first place.
The state threw another wrench into ICE’s plans Monday. The Department of the Environment issued an administrative order to Washington County barring it from granting additional wastewater permits for the site, writing in court papers that the surrounding sewer system cannot handle the increased demand of hundreds of detainees, a claim ICE disputes. The county must update its comprehensive water and sewer plan before it can issue such allowances, according to the order.
Added 3/18/26
|
Washington County relays info from DHS about ICE facility |
Julie E. Greene
The Herald-Mail
March 17, 2026, 12:00 p.m. ET
U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials "indicated" to Washington County officials on Monday, March 16, that the mega-warehouse DHS and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement recently bought along Wright Road will be a "processing facility and not a detention center," County Administrator Michelle Gordon said March 17.
Washington County government announced late Monday afternoon, March 16, that county and DHS officials held an initial meeting that day regarding the 53.74-acre warehouse property the federal government bought outside Williamsport town limits earlier this year.
Gordon, during the county commissioners' March 17 morning meeting, expanded on the county's release about the meeting and provided some details about plans for the federal site at 16220 Wright Road, also known as 10900 Hopewell Road, according to a YouTube video of the meeting.
"It is essentially a booking facility where detainees will be brought for intake processing. Detainees would stay at that facility for an average of three to seven days, after which they would be transferred to a detention center for long-term needs out of the state, to another state," Gordon said.
DHS officials anticipate that about 500 beds would be in use on any given day, but that it "would be outfitted with 1,500 beds so capacity could go higher at times," Gordon said.
The county has faced questions and protests, particularly from Washington County Indivisible, in recent months regarding DHS and ICE's plans for the Wright Road facility. Another protest outside the county administration building was planned during the March 17 commissioners meeting and sounds from that protest could occasionally be heard on the YouTube video.
The county commissioners voted 4-0 on Feb. 10 to approve a resolution supporting DHS, ICE and local law enforcement — to a chorus of boos from the meeting room gallery.
The state of Maryland filed a lawsuit earlier this month asking a federal court to vacate the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's purchase of the Washington County warehouse.
On March 11, the judge issued a temporary restraining order at the state's request, ordering a 14-day halt to any construction or retrofitting of the warehouse.
What else did Washington County share about plans for ICE facility?
Gordon said county officials addressed a variety of topics with DHS officials during the March 16 meeting, including "aspects regarding community concerns and concerns about impact on local resources."
Speaking about the facility's potential impact on local medical and EMS resources, Gordon relayed that the federal government will have its own complement of medical staff 24/7, including doctors and nurses.
"They do not believe they will need a lot as they will handle medical needs in-house so as not to overburden our local resources," she said.
"They expressed their desire to dispel negative comments with regard to how detainees are housed and treated. They will have a full medical staff and provide ancillary services," Gordon said.
They have the highest detention standards in the country, she said.
"They are audited monthly and annually by an independent third party who reviews services provided for food, medical, religious, recreation, legal etc.," Gordon said.
What about water and sewer services for the ICE facility?
Gordon said the federal contractor, KVG, would be responsible for engineering work related to potential water and sewer needs for the Wright Road facility.
KVG LLC of Gettysburg, Pa., was awarded a $113 million contract by ICE to renovate and provide wraparound services for a "processing and detention facility" at the Washington County building, according to USSpending.gov.
KVG would be in contact with Hagerstown and Washington County regarding water and sewer service needs in the future, she said.
The city of Hagerstown only provides water service to the property, not sewer service, City Administrator Scott Nicewarner confirmed in an email on March 17.
Asked if the city had received any requests from KVG or the federal government regarding water service or any other services for 16220 Wright Road, Nicewarner wrote that the city had not been contacted by anyone as of Tuesday morning, March 17.
Gordon said "DHS officials indicated the federal government would pay any fees needed for additional capacity and also for any infrastructure improvements needed to the Wright Road sewage pump station and plant."
Sewage capacity is a concern the state raised in its lawsuit about the facility.
The warehouse's sewer line would likely be unable to handle the amount of waste expected from a 1,500-person processing facility, according to state filings in the lawsuit. Upgrades to the sewer line could cause "irreparable harm" because excavation work "is likely to increase sediment runoff to nearby waters and have significant traffic impacts within the community as well," according to a memo in support of the state's request for the restraining order.
A Homeland Security public notice about the project says the warehouse is served by a sanitary sewer connection that might need limited upgrades "to accommodate projected wastewater flows."
Hagerstown officials have discussed the likely need for greater water service for the property.
City Utilities Director Nancy Hausrath, during a Feb. 17 work session, told the mayor and City Council that the Wright Road warehouse has a 2-inch domestic service line that can produce 200 gallons per minute for continuous flow.
The property owner would likely need to upgrade the water service if the building is used for housing because that meter would not be sufficient for peak usage, said Hausrath, according to a YouTube video of the work session.
What more did Washington County share about its meeting with Homeland Security?
Gordon said DHS officials "welcomed the open dialogue between our agencies and expressed a desire to maintain ongoing communication and collaboration."
The county issued a news release around 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 16, about the meeting with DHS officials, but that release did not contain many of the details Gordon shared during the March 17 commissioners meeting.
Neither Gordon during the meeting nor the release identified which county officials attended the March 16 meeting, including whether any of the county commissioners attended.
The county government did not immediately respond Tuesday morning, March 17, to an inquiry from The Herald-Mail about who attended the meeting.
According to Gordon and the release, the March 16 meeting "brought together key subject matter experts."
The release also says the meeting brought together county and DHS leadership.
Here's the county's statement in the news release on the meeting:
"Today’s meeting marks a significant step towards enhancing knowledge sharing and opens the lines of communication regarding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Washington County, Maryland. This first meeting brought together key subject matter experts, County and DHS leadership.
"By engaging early and openly, Washington County is ensuring that the learning process is representative and adaptable to the evolving needs of the community. During the meeting, Washington County officials addressed a variety of topics, including aspects regarding community concerns, and concerns regarding impact on local resources.
"Officials from DHS welcomed the open dialogue between both agencies and expressed a desire to maintain ongoing communication and collaboration."
Gordon said comments can be sent to the county commissioners at [email protected] or mailed to Board of County Commissioners, Washington County; 100 W. Washington St., Suite 1101; Hagerstown, MD 21740.
The commissioners' phone numbers and individual emails are available at www.washco-md.net/county-commissioners.
The Herald-Mail
March 17, 2026, 12:00 p.m. ET
- DHS officials told Washington County the new facility will be for processing, not long-term detention.
- Detainees are expected to stay for three to seven days before being transferred out of state.
- The state of Maryland has sued to block the purchase and a federal judge ordered a temporarily halt to construction.
- The facility plans to have its own medical staff to avoid burdening local resources.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials "indicated" to Washington County officials on Monday, March 16, that the mega-warehouse DHS and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement recently bought along Wright Road will be a "processing facility and not a detention center," County Administrator Michelle Gordon said March 17.
Washington County government announced late Monday afternoon, March 16, that county and DHS officials held an initial meeting that day regarding the 53.74-acre warehouse property the federal government bought outside Williamsport town limits earlier this year.
Gordon, during the county commissioners' March 17 morning meeting, expanded on the county's release about the meeting and provided some details about plans for the federal site at 16220 Wright Road, also known as 10900 Hopewell Road, according to a YouTube video of the meeting.
"It is essentially a booking facility where detainees will be brought for intake processing. Detainees would stay at that facility for an average of three to seven days, after which they would be transferred to a detention center for long-term needs out of the state, to another state," Gordon said.
DHS officials anticipate that about 500 beds would be in use on any given day, but that it "would be outfitted with 1,500 beds so capacity could go higher at times," Gordon said.
The county has faced questions and protests, particularly from Washington County Indivisible, in recent months regarding DHS and ICE's plans for the Wright Road facility. Another protest outside the county administration building was planned during the March 17 commissioners meeting and sounds from that protest could occasionally be heard on the YouTube video.
The county commissioners voted 4-0 on Feb. 10 to approve a resolution supporting DHS, ICE and local law enforcement — to a chorus of boos from the meeting room gallery.
The state of Maryland filed a lawsuit earlier this month asking a federal court to vacate the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's purchase of the Washington County warehouse.
On March 11, the judge issued a temporary restraining order at the state's request, ordering a 14-day halt to any construction or retrofitting of the warehouse.
What else did Washington County share about plans for ICE facility?
Gordon said county officials addressed a variety of topics with DHS officials during the March 16 meeting, including "aspects regarding community concerns and concerns about impact on local resources."
Speaking about the facility's potential impact on local medical and EMS resources, Gordon relayed that the federal government will have its own complement of medical staff 24/7, including doctors and nurses.
"They do not believe they will need a lot as they will handle medical needs in-house so as not to overburden our local resources," she said.
"They expressed their desire to dispel negative comments with regard to how detainees are housed and treated. They will have a full medical staff and provide ancillary services," Gordon said.
They have the highest detention standards in the country, she said.
"They are audited monthly and annually by an independent third party who reviews services provided for food, medical, religious, recreation, legal etc.," Gordon said.
What about water and sewer services for the ICE facility?
Gordon said the federal contractor, KVG, would be responsible for engineering work related to potential water and sewer needs for the Wright Road facility.
KVG LLC of Gettysburg, Pa., was awarded a $113 million contract by ICE to renovate and provide wraparound services for a "processing and detention facility" at the Washington County building, according to USSpending.gov.
KVG would be in contact with Hagerstown and Washington County regarding water and sewer service needs in the future, she said.
The city of Hagerstown only provides water service to the property, not sewer service, City Administrator Scott Nicewarner confirmed in an email on March 17.
Asked if the city had received any requests from KVG or the federal government regarding water service or any other services for 16220 Wright Road, Nicewarner wrote that the city had not been contacted by anyone as of Tuesday morning, March 17.
Gordon said "DHS officials indicated the federal government would pay any fees needed for additional capacity and also for any infrastructure improvements needed to the Wright Road sewage pump station and plant."
Sewage capacity is a concern the state raised in its lawsuit about the facility.
The warehouse's sewer line would likely be unable to handle the amount of waste expected from a 1,500-person processing facility, according to state filings in the lawsuit. Upgrades to the sewer line could cause "irreparable harm" because excavation work "is likely to increase sediment runoff to nearby waters and have significant traffic impacts within the community as well," according to a memo in support of the state's request for the restraining order.
A Homeland Security public notice about the project says the warehouse is served by a sanitary sewer connection that might need limited upgrades "to accommodate projected wastewater flows."
Hagerstown officials have discussed the likely need for greater water service for the property.
City Utilities Director Nancy Hausrath, during a Feb. 17 work session, told the mayor and City Council that the Wright Road warehouse has a 2-inch domestic service line that can produce 200 gallons per minute for continuous flow.
The property owner would likely need to upgrade the water service if the building is used for housing because that meter would not be sufficient for peak usage, said Hausrath, according to a YouTube video of the work session.
What more did Washington County share about its meeting with Homeland Security?
Gordon said DHS officials "welcomed the open dialogue between our agencies and expressed a desire to maintain ongoing communication and collaboration."
The county issued a news release around 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 16, about the meeting with DHS officials, but that release did not contain many of the details Gordon shared during the March 17 commissioners meeting.
Neither Gordon during the meeting nor the release identified which county officials attended the March 16 meeting, including whether any of the county commissioners attended.
The county government did not immediately respond Tuesday morning, March 17, to an inquiry from The Herald-Mail about who attended the meeting.
According to Gordon and the release, the March 16 meeting "brought together key subject matter experts."
The release also says the meeting brought together county and DHS leadership.
Here's the county's statement in the news release on the meeting:
"Today’s meeting marks a significant step towards enhancing knowledge sharing and opens the lines of communication regarding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Washington County, Maryland. This first meeting brought together key subject matter experts, County and DHS leadership.
"By engaging early and openly, Washington County is ensuring that the learning process is representative and adaptable to the evolving needs of the community. During the meeting, Washington County officials addressed a variety of topics, including aspects regarding community concerns, and concerns regarding impact on local resources.
"Officials from DHS welcomed the open dialogue between both agencies and expressed a desire to maintain ongoing communication and collaboration."
Gordon said comments can be sent to the county commissioners at [email protected] or mailed to Board of County Commissioners, Washington County; 100 W. Washington St., Suite 1101; Hagerstown, MD 21740.
The commissioners' phone numbers and individual emails are available at www.washco-md.net/county-commissioners.
Added 3/18/26
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DOJ files status report to federal judge about Maryland ICE facility |
Julie E. Greene
The Herald-Mail
March 17, 2026, 5:04 a.m. ET
The contractor hired to retrofit a Williamsport-area warehouse into an immigrant detention center acknowledged on Thursday, March 12, a stop work order related to a Maryland lawsuit to block construction at the site.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on March 11 to pause any construction or retrofitting of the warehouse at 16220 Wright Road, also known as 10900 Hopewell Road. The order called for a 14-day halt to the detention facility project.
The order was in response to an emergency motion filed by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown on March 10 related to a lawsuit the state filed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to halt the construction.
At issue is a 53.74-acre property, which includes a mega warehouse, that Homeland Security and ICE bought along Hopewell and Wright roads on Jan. 16. The site is outside of Williamsport town limits.
Plans to convert the warehouse into an immigrant detention center have resulted in numerous local protests against ICE's plans, including one on Jan. 20 in downtown Hagerstown attended by Congresswoman April McClain Delaney, D-6th, and Sen. Chris Van Hollen,D-Md.
The local warehouse is part of an ICE effort to expand immigrant detention sites by converting commercial warehouse space to hold detainees.
The federal judge gave Homeland Security and ICE 48 hours to file a status report.
U.S. Department of Justice attorneys filed the status report on the afternoon it was due, March 13.
What does the DOJ status report say about construction at Washington County warehouse?
The status report notes that an ICE contracting official received the court's order on Thursday, March 12, and contacted a representative of the vendor, KVG, via email to stop all work related to the renovation and construction at the warehouse outside Williamsport.
KVG LLC of Gettysburg, Pa., was awarded a $113 million contract by ICE to renovate and provide wraparound services for a "processing and detention facility" at the Washington County building, according to USSpending.gov.
The "current end date" for the project is listed as May 4, 2026, and the "potential end date" for the project was listed as March 5, 2029, at USSpending.gov. However, the state's lawsuit said ICE could be planning to convert the Wright Road warehouse for its use by September 2026.
"The vendor's stop work order directed the personnel and subcontractors to immediately cease all work activities and asked that by no later than 4pm ET on March 13 they provide written acknowledgement that the stop work direction has been received and implemented," the DOJ status report states.
The contractor and subcontractors are not to resume work unless and until they get written authorization by KVG to do so.
Environmental and health issues among state's concerns
In requesting a restraining order, the state noted the "construction and operation of Defendants' sought detention center will likely result in pollution to nearby watersheds, threatening both community health and local ecosystems."
Semple Run runs adjacent to the warehouse property and is part of the Conococheague Creek watershed. The warehouse property also is upstream from the Conococheague and the Potomac River, which feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.
Among state officials' concerns are that the warehouse's sewer line would likely be unable to handle the amount of waste expected from a 1,500-person processing facility. Upgrades to the sewer line could cause "irreparable harm" because excavation work "is likely to increase sediment runoff to nearby waters and have significant traffic impacts within the community as well," according to a memo in support of the state's request for the restraining order.
A Homeland Security public notice about the project says the warehouse is served by a municipal sanitary sewer connection that might need limited upgrades "to accommodate projected wastewater flows."
The Herald-Mail
March 17, 2026, 5:04 a.m. ET
- A federal judge issued a 14-day stop work order on a Washington County, Maryland, warehouse being converted into an immigrant detention center.
- The order follows a lawsuit filed by Maryland's attorney general against Homeland Security and ICE.
- Concerns cited in the lawsuit include potential environmental pollution and threats to community health.
- The contractor, KVG LLC, acknowledged the order and instructed subcontractors to cease all work activities.
The contractor hired to retrofit a Williamsport-area warehouse into an immigrant detention center acknowledged on Thursday, March 12, a stop work order related to a Maryland lawsuit to block construction at the site.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on March 11 to pause any construction or retrofitting of the warehouse at 16220 Wright Road, also known as 10900 Hopewell Road. The order called for a 14-day halt to the detention facility project.
The order was in response to an emergency motion filed by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown on March 10 related to a lawsuit the state filed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to halt the construction.
At issue is a 53.74-acre property, which includes a mega warehouse, that Homeland Security and ICE bought along Hopewell and Wright roads on Jan. 16. The site is outside of Williamsport town limits.
Plans to convert the warehouse into an immigrant detention center have resulted in numerous local protests against ICE's plans, including one on Jan. 20 in downtown Hagerstown attended by Congresswoman April McClain Delaney, D-6th, and Sen. Chris Van Hollen,D-Md.
The local warehouse is part of an ICE effort to expand immigrant detention sites by converting commercial warehouse space to hold detainees.
The federal judge gave Homeland Security and ICE 48 hours to file a status report.
U.S. Department of Justice attorneys filed the status report on the afternoon it was due, March 13.
What does the DOJ status report say about construction at Washington County warehouse?
The status report notes that an ICE contracting official received the court's order on Thursday, March 12, and contacted a representative of the vendor, KVG, via email to stop all work related to the renovation and construction at the warehouse outside Williamsport.
KVG LLC of Gettysburg, Pa., was awarded a $113 million contract by ICE to renovate and provide wraparound services for a "processing and detention facility" at the Washington County building, according to USSpending.gov.
The "current end date" for the project is listed as May 4, 2026, and the "potential end date" for the project was listed as March 5, 2029, at USSpending.gov. However, the state's lawsuit said ICE could be planning to convert the Wright Road warehouse for its use by September 2026.
"The vendor's stop work order directed the personnel and subcontractors to immediately cease all work activities and asked that by no later than 4pm ET on March 13 they provide written acknowledgement that the stop work direction has been received and implemented," the DOJ status report states.
The contractor and subcontractors are not to resume work unless and until they get written authorization by KVG to do so.
Environmental and health issues among state's concerns
In requesting a restraining order, the state noted the "construction and operation of Defendants' sought detention center will likely result in pollution to nearby watersheds, threatening both community health and local ecosystems."
Semple Run runs adjacent to the warehouse property and is part of the Conococheague Creek watershed. The warehouse property also is upstream from the Conococheague and the Potomac River, which feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.
Among state officials' concerns are that the warehouse's sewer line would likely be unable to handle the amount of waste expected from a 1,500-person processing facility. Upgrades to the sewer line could cause "irreparable harm" because excavation work "is likely to increase sediment runoff to nearby waters and have significant traffic impacts within the community as well," according to a memo in support of the state's request for the restraining order.
A Homeland Security public notice about the project says the warehouse is served by a municipal sanitary sewer connection that might need limited upgrades "to accommodate projected wastewater flows."
Added 3/13/26
Radio Free Hub City reports "Delay, Deny, Defend – Washington County Constructively Denies Records on ICE Warehouse Sale"
Added 3/8/26
See this article with pictures at https://www.thebanner.com/politics-power/national-politics/ice-hagerstown-detention-center-contract-AHIV2KEHQJAVFMWBYKO2YBWOCU/?bis=article-action-link
See this article with pictures at https://www.thebanner.com/politics-power/national-politics/ice-hagerstown-detention-center-contract-AHIV2KEHQJAVFMWBYKO2YBWOCU/?bis=article-action-link
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ICE awards $113 million to build out Hagerstown detention center |
Daniel Zawodny
3/8/2026 1:35 p.m. EDT, Updated 3/8/2026 3:05 p.m. EDT
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a $113 million contract for the build-out and operations of a controversial proposed detention and processing center in Washington County, according to federal spending records.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania-based KVG LLC received the contract Friday, according to USAspending.gov, with an end date listed as May 4, though it is unclear when the facility will be up and running. The contract contains potential future options to grow to as much as $642 million over three years.
The deal brings total federal spending on the 825,000-square-foot Williamsport warehouse to at least $215 million.
It comes less than two months after the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, purchased the facility for $102.4 million to retrofit into a detention and processing site for as many as 1,500 immigrants at once. It was originally designed as a logistics and distribution center for a big-box company like Amazon.
Spokespeople for DHS and ICE could not immediately be reached for comment.
The site, one of dozens of warehouses around the country the federal government has purchased or is eyeing for conversion as part of its aggressive plan to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants, has sparked fierce debate nationally and across Maryland.
Washington County residents have packed county government meetings to fight it, voicing a litany of concerns over the possible impacts on local infrastructure, along with general distaste for increased immigration enforcement. Others in the mostly conservative county support it and President Donald Trump’s immigration strategy, though many have questions about whether local roads, hospitals and sewer lines in the small town can handle a sudden influx of 1,500 people.
Last month, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown sued ICE to stop the Williamsport facility over environmental concerns. In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Brown said the administration “secretly” purchased the warehouse without consulting the state or surrounding community.
In recent weeks, residents have noticed increased activity in the area, including an influx of mostly unmarked vehicles in the parking lots and upgrades to nearby sewer line access.
A representative of KVG could not immediately be reached for comment on the deal. The Department of Defense — recently renamed the Department of War — has awarded the company numerous contracts in recent years for logistics support around the globe, ranging from transportation services to food catering and more.
The Banner has asked the company if it plans to have the facility operational for ICE by the May 4 contract deadline.
3/8/2026 1:35 p.m. EDT, Updated 3/8/2026 3:05 p.m. EDT
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a $113 million contract for the build-out and operations of a controversial proposed detention and processing center in Washington County, according to federal spending records.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania-based KVG LLC received the contract Friday, according to USAspending.gov, with an end date listed as May 4, though it is unclear when the facility will be up and running. The contract contains potential future options to grow to as much as $642 million over three years.
The deal brings total federal spending on the 825,000-square-foot Williamsport warehouse to at least $215 million.
It comes less than two months after the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, purchased the facility for $102.4 million to retrofit into a detention and processing site for as many as 1,500 immigrants at once. It was originally designed as a logistics and distribution center for a big-box company like Amazon.
Spokespeople for DHS and ICE could not immediately be reached for comment.
The site, one of dozens of warehouses around the country the federal government has purchased or is eyeing for conversion as part of its aggressive plan to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants, has sparked fierce debate nationally and across Maryland.
Washington County residents have packed county government meetings to fight it, voicing a litany of concerns over the possible impacts on local infrastructure, along with general distaste for increased immigration enforcement. Others in the mostly conservative county support it and President Donald Trump’s immigration strategy, though many have questions about whether local roads, hospitals and sewer lines in the small town can handle a sudden influx of 1,500 people.
Last month, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown sued ICE to stop the Williamsport facility over environmental concerns. In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Brown said the administration “secretly” purchased the warehouse without consulting the state or surrounding community.
In recent weeks, residents have noticed increased activity in the area, including an influx of mostly unmarked vehicles in the parking lots and upgrades to nearby sewer line access.
A representative of KVG could not immediately be reached for comment on the deal. The Department of Defense — recently renamed the Department of War — has awarded the company numerous contracts in recent years for logistics support around the globe, ranging from transportation services to food catering and more.
The Banner has asked the company if it plans to have the facility operational for ICE by the May 4 contract deadline.
added 2/26/26
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Maryland House passes bills to hamper immigration detention facilities |
By Katharine Wilson | [email protected]
PUBLISHED: February 26, 2026 at 2:11 PM EST
The Maryland House of Delegates passed two bills Thursday to restrict the spread and impact of immigration detention facilities in the state, amid work by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and private companies to set up immigration detention centers. The legislation now goes to the State Senate.One bill, HB 1017, that passed 98-36 require specific local zoning for private immigration detention centers, and another, HB 1018, that passed 98-37, would place minimum standards on all immigration detention centers and correctional facilities in the state. The two bills would immediately become law if signed by the governor. The Senate versions of these measures do not have hearings scheduled.
“We had those two bills today, HB 1017 and 1018, they’re really all about accountability,” House Government, Labor and Elections Committee Chair Del. Melissa Wells, a Baltimore City Democrat, said. “The intent is that we want to make sure that when we have facilities in our state, with regard to how they’re housing people that are in detention or incarcerated, that they’re meeting minimum standards and that we’re aware of any of the impacts it could have on the local community.”
House Republicans, including Minority Leader Del. Jason Buckel of Allegany County, said that the legislation imposing minimum standards on immigration detention centers would go against the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which says that federal law outweighs state law. He added that the part of the legislation on minimum standards could not be used against a federal immigration facility.
“I don’t want anyone in this room to think that you have the power and the ability to do the things that you’re telling the activists and the advocates, on Lawyer’s Mall, that you’re going to do,” Buckel said.
Mounting immigration bills
There are several ICE-related bills being considered by the Maryland General Assembly. The first bill passed by the Maryland General Assembly in the 2026 session was to end formal agreements between local law enforcement agencies and ICE. The Senate has passed a bill to prohibit all law enforcement agents from wearing face coverings, which is awaiting a vote in the House of Delegates.
HB 1018, sponsored by Montgomery County Democrat Del. Vaughn Stewart, would require the minimum care and condition standards applicable to incarcerated people in the state to also apply to detainees in immigration facilities. Facilities would have to have reliable utilities, functioning heat control, and an emergency power system. The legislation would also require reporting by health care workers and security guards if certain regulations are not being followed. If an immigration detention facility or other correctional facility is found to have life-threatening or health-endangering conditions, the legislation would allow the Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards to close the facility.
“Our community cannot handle the burdens if we have a health or a safety failure at one of these detention centers,” Del. Matthew Schindler, a Washington County Democrat, said on the House floor, referencing the incoming ICE facility. Schindler said the small town of Williamsport, where the warehouse is located, already has long emergency room wait times, and that the use of utilities by the facility could cost taxpayers.
In a confidential letter from Maryland Assistant Attorney General Natalie Bilbrough shared with The Baltimore Sun by the House Republican Caucus, Bilbrough argued that HB 1018 legislation is “not clearly unconstitutional,” but could present “significant legal risk” if the legislation is enforced on federal agencies, including ICE.
Stewart said in an interview with the Sun that the legislation does not specifically target the federal government, instead just includes immigration facilities under policies monitoring safety and energy use in all correctional institutions. He said that while the Washington County facility was one reason for the bill, as was general concerns about the impacts on the power grid and healthcare system caused by any large correctional center.
The zoning bill, sponsored by Wells, would require specific local zoning for private immigration detention centers to operate or be approved. The legislation was supported by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, who argued in a hearing earlier this month that the legislation allows local government to have more oversight into incoming facilities that could have a major impact on their communities.
“We want to make sure that moving forward, if folks want to have the detention center, that that local jurisdiction is aware that it will be coming and that they have expressed zoning established for that purpose.” Wells said in an interview with the Sun.
ICE in Maryland
The bills come as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attempts to increase its presence in the state, amid a nationwide immigration crackdown.
In January, the Department of Homeland Security has purchased a warehouse in Washington County to turn into an immigration detention center housing up to 1,500 detainees. The Washington County Board of County Commissioners voted on Feb. 10 in support of DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the county. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown sued the Trump administration on Monday to stop the warehouse from being turned into an immigration detention center.
The Howard County Council stopped a private immigration detention center from attempting to set up in Elkridge earlier this month through emergency legislation. The Baltimore County Council passed a bill on Feb. 17 to ban private immigration detention centers after reports said an ICE field office was coming to the county.
A processing facility in Baltimore City has been the subject of two tours by members of Congress after a viral video showed crowded conditions in the facility during the January snowstorm.
State Senate President Bill Ferguson has not specifically endorsed either bill, but said on Tuesday during a reporter roundtable that he anticipates moving forward with legislation related to immigration detention centers. Ferguson said there are methods the state government can take to regulate the facilities, especially through health and safety standards, that does not violate the supremacy of federal laws over state laws.
PUBLISHED: February 26, 2026 at 2:11 PM EST
The Maryland House of Delegates passed two bills Thursday to restrict the spread and impact of immigration detention facilities in the state, amid work by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and private companies to set up immigration detention centers. The legislation now goes to the State Senate.One bill, HB 1017, that passed 98-36 require specific local zoning for private immigration detention centers, and another, HB 1018, that passed 98-37, would place minimum standards on all immigration detention centers and correctional facilities in the state. The two bills would immediately become law if signed by the governor. The Senate versions of these measures do not have hearings scheduled.
“We had those two bills today, HB 1017 and 1018, they’re really all about accountability,” House Government, Labor and Elections Committee Chair Del. Melissa Wells, a Baltimore City Democrat, said. “The intent is that we want to make sure that when we have facilities in our state, with regard to how they’re housing people that are in detention or incarcerated, that they’re meeting minimum standards and that we’re aware of any of the impacts it could have on the local community.”
House Republicans, including Minority Leader Del. Jason Buckel of Allegany County, said that the legislation imposing minimum standards on immigration detention centers would go against the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which says that federal law outweighs state law. He added that the part of the legislation on minimum standards could not be used against a federal immigration facility.
“I don’t want anyone in this room to think that you have the power and the ability to do the things that you’re telling the activists and the advocates, on Lawyer’s Mall, that you’re going to do,” Buckel said.
Mounting immigration bills
There are several ICE-related bills being considered by the Maryland General Assembly. The first bill passed by the Maryland General Assembly in the 2026 session was to end formal agreements between local law enforcement agencies and ICE. The Senate has passed a bill to prohibit all law enforcement agents from wearing face coverings, which is awaiting a vote in the House of Delegates.
HB 1018, sponsored by Montgomery County Democrat Del. Vaughn Stewart, would require the minimum care and condition standards applicable to incarcerated people in the state to also apply to detainees in immigration facilities. Facilities would have to have reliable utilities, functioning heat control, and an emergency power system. The legislation would also require reporting by health care workers and security guards if certain regulations are not being followed. If an immigration detention facility or other correctional facility is found to have life-threatening or health-endangering conditions, the legislation would allow the Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards to close the facility.
“Our community cannot handle the burdens if we have a health or a safety failure at one of these detention centers,” Del. Matthew Schindler, a Washington County Democrat, said on the House floor, referencing the incoming ICE facility. Schindler said the small town of Williamsport, where the warehouse is located, already has long emergency room wait times, and that the use of utilities by the facility could cost taxpayers.
In a confidential letter from Maryland Assistant Attorney General Natalie Bilbrough shared with The Baltimore Sun by the House Republican Caucus, Bilbrough argued that HB 1018 legislation is “not clearly unconstitutional,” but could present “significant legal risk” if the legislation is enforced on federal agencies, including ICE.
Stewart said in an interview with the Sun that the legislation does not specifically target the federal government, instead just includes immigration facilities under policies monitoring safety and energy use in all correctional institutions. He said that while the Washington County facility was one reason for the bill, as was general concerns about the impacts on the power grid and healthcare system caused by any large correctional center.
The zoning bill, sponsored by Wells, would require specific local zoning for private immigration detention centers to operate or be approved. The legislation was supported by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, who argued in a hearing earlier this month that the legislation allows local government to have more oversight into incoming facilities that could have a major impact on their communities.
“We want to make sure that moving forward, if folks want to have the detention center, that that local jurisdiction is aware that it will be coming and that they have expressed zoning established for that purpose.” Wells said in an interview with the Sun.
ICE in Maryland
The bills come as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attempts to increase its presence in the state, amid a nationwide immigration crackdown.
In January, the Department of Homeland Security has purchased a warehouse in Washington County to turn into an immigration detention center housing up to 1,500 detainees. The Washington County Board of County Commissioners voted on Feb. 10 in support of DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the county. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown sued the Trump administration on Monday to stop the warehouse from being turned into an immigration detention center.
The Howard County Council stopped a private immigration detention center from attempting to set up in Elkridge earlier this month through emergency legislation. The Baltimore County Council passed a bill on Feb. 17 to ban private immigration detention centers after reports said an ICE field office was coming to the county.
A processing facility in Baltimore City has been the subject of two tours by members of Congress after a viral video showed crowded conditions in the facility during the January snowstorm.
State Senate President Bill Ferguson has not specifically endorsed either bill, but said on Tuesday during a reporter roundtable that he anticipates moving forward with legislation related to immigration detention centers. Ferguson said there are methods the state government can take to regulate the facilities, especially through health and safety standards, that does not violate the supremacy of federal laws over state laws.
added 2/25/26
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What does Maryland lawsuit against Homeland Security, ICE ask for? |
Julie E. Greene
The Herald-Mail
Feb. 25, 2026, 8:36 a.m. ET
Public health and environmental concerns are among the reasons cited by the State of Maryland's lawsuit that asks a federal court to vacate the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security's purchase of a Washington County warehouse to serve as an immigrant detention center.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Monday, Feb. 23, by the Maryland Attorney General's office.
It concerns an 825,620-square-foot mega warehouse at 16220 Wright Road near Williamsport that Homeland Security and ICE purchased on Jan. 16 for $102.4 million from FRIND-Hopewell LLC with an address in Washington, D.C., according to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation's website.
In a Jan. 28 response to The Herald-Mail, an ICE spokesperson said that while there were no new detention centers to announce at the time, "These will not be warehouses — they will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards."
ICE could be planning to convert the Wright Road warehouse for its use by September 2026, according to the state's lawsuit.
News reports about ICE's plans for an immigrant detention center in Washington County, and then the publicizing of the warehouse purchase, have led to local protests against ICE. Washington County Indivisible has organized several such protests, including one on Tuesday morning, Feb. 24, outside the Washington County Administration Building in downtown Hagerstown, and one on Jan. 20 at Public Square that was attended by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-6th.
What does the Maryland Attorney General's lawsuit against Homeland Security say?
The state's lawsuit says the defendants "have run roughshod over federal law and trampled on the State's interests" in "their zeal to purchase" the Wright Road warehouse to convert it into an immigrant detention facility.
The defendants are Homeland Security, ICE, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.
The state alleges federal authorities disregarded requirements of both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which "serve to ensure federal agencies act in a transparent manner, engage in reasoned decision-making, and analyze feasible alternatives."
"Specifically, NEPA requires federal agencies to prepare a detailed statement of environmental impacts before taking final action, ensuring both that environmental considerations are integrated into the decision-making process and that States, interested parties, and members of the public have access to relevant information so they may play an informed role in the decision-making process and implementation. Likewise, the APA requires reasoned decision-making, including consideration of reasonable alternatives," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit accuses Homeland Security and ICE of not conducting a "public NEPA review of the Project's likely impacts on the environment" before buying the warehouse to convert it into an immigration detention center.
Little information has been provided to the state about plans for the property, which keeps the state from being able to fully assess the "harm" the project could have on the state's "sovereign interests," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit includes a copy of a Jan. 12 letter a Homeland Security official sent to the Maryland Historical Trust that the lawsuit states includes a "general, non-exhaustive list of possible" improvements to convert the warehouse into a detention facility.
According to Homeland Security's letter, the potential improvements include:
The lawsuit states the historical trust sent a second letter to Homeland Security requesting more information after the trust received comments "calling into question" the project's scope.
State officials, in the lawsuit, said they expect the detention facility will put "additional burdens on essential public services in light of public reporting of conditions in detention facilities around the country ..."
The lawsuit states that converting the warehouse into a detention facility "could overwhelm the existing sewer lines serving the property."
A 1,500-bed facility could produce 90,000 gallons of wastewater a day, state officials project in the lawsuit. The estimated average daily wastewater flow for the warehouse is 24,768.6 gallons a day.
The state has an interest in protecting its waterways for recreational and environmental reasons, with the lawsuit noting the nearby Semple Run. Semple Run discharges into the Conococheague Creek, a major tributary of the Potomac River.
The lawsuit mentions state-protected aquatic species in waters adjacent to and downstream from the warehouse. The state considers the brook floater mussel and green floater mussel, both found in the Potomac downstream of the Conococheague, to be endangered species. The green floater mussel is proposed to be included on the list of federally threatened species.
Also mentioned are the Allegheny pearl dace and Appalachian springsnail, which the state considers to be "in need of conservation."
The lawsuit also states that the defendants haven't provided "any indication of whether they anticipate having to close roads in the area to accommodate traffic to and from the facility" or what other traffic impacts the facility could have.
The Herald-Mail submitted a Public Information Act request with Washington County government on Feb. 10 asking, among other things, if the county received any requests to limit access to the new stretch of Wright Road in front of the warehouse Homeland Security/ICE purchased.
The Herald-Mail, on Feb. 24, received an update from the county saying it would take longer than 10 working days to retrieve, review, and produce the records.
The warehouse sits along a recently relocated section of Wright Road that connects a narrow two-lane stretch of Hopewell Road to an older section of Wright Road that intersects Elliott Parkway. Elliott Parkway is part of a business park.
Semple Run is south of the warehouse and along an older section of Wright Road, south of the newer stretch of Wright Road. A one-lane bridge along nearby Hopewell Road crosses Semple Run.
Homeland Security responds to Maryland lawsuit over warehouse purchase
A Homeland Security spokesperson, via email on the afternoon of Feb. 24, provided The Herald-Mail the following comment regarding the state's lawsuit.
"Let's be honest about this. This isn't about the environment. It's about trying to stop President Trump from making America safe again. The left didn't care about the mountains of litter that illegals aliens dropped on ranches and riverbeds during Biden's border crisis. They're feigning concern now because they want those same illegal aliens to stay forever and vote here.
"These will not be warehouses — they will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.
"Secretary Noem has stated that she is willing to work with officials on both sides of the aisle to expand detention space to help ICE law enforcement carry out the largest deportation effort in American history.
"ICE is targeting criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members and more. 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities."
What does Washington County government say?
The Washington County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution on Feb. 10 that supports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and local law enforcement.
The commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the resolution, to a chorus of boos from the meeting room gallery, according to a YouTube video of the meeting. Commissioner Derek Harvey was absent from that meeting and the one on Feb. 24.
On Tuesday, Feb. 24, County Administrator Michelle Gordon read a statement reinforcing statements the commissioners had previously made regarding the property purchased for ICE, according to a YouTube livestream of the meeting.
"We understand that the community is concerned. Washington County was not involved in the site selection process regarding the new facility that will be opened in Williamsport.
"We were not consulted by the federal government or the private entity involved in the sales transaction of an existing structure. This is now a property owned by the federal goverment. As such, Washington County government has no jurisdiction and we are not the governing body that will be overseeing this project," Gordon said.
Gordon was interrupted by a member of the audience who said he had a question, according to a YouTube video of the meeting. Gordon said "This is not an interactive meeting" and Commissioners President John Barr asked the man to leave.
When Gordon continued she said there had been suggestions by noncounty and county residents that compared the Williamsport-area project to a facility in Howard County, Maryland, and two recent actions taken by government in that county.
The Baltimore Banner, on Feb. 2, reported that Howard County revoked a building permit for a private detention facility proposed in Elkridge that is proposed to be used by ICE.
"Those are not a fair comparison," Gordon said. "The example from Howard County involved a building owned by a private company, which is not the case here in Washington County, where the building is owned by the federal government."
"The suggestions being made would require a legal opinion and interpretation of the potential liability of all parties involved both for the county and personally for individuals taking potentially adverse actions against another organization.
"Additionally, a legal opinion and interpretation would be needed regarding the hierarchy and interactions between local, state and federal government authority and jurisdiction, all of which we are not able to comment on at this time," Gordon said.
Gordon noted a Jan. 28 statement from the county and the Feb. 10 resolution the commissioners approved.
The Jan. 28 statement said the county's Historic District Commission, Washington County Planning and Zoning Department, received a letter on Jan. 14 from Homeland Security. The letter indicated Homeland Security was analyzing the potential purchase of the warehouse at 10900 Hopewell Road (A/K/A 16220 Wright Road).
In the letter, DHS communicated that the undertaking results "in a finding of No Historic Properties Affected". The federal law in question does not give the County any opportunity to overrule that determination, according to the county statement.
Gordon, on Feb. 24, said the "county has not been provided with any project information from the federal government for their property on Wright Road and Washington County is not going to speculate on future use or development of this site."
Washington County Indivisible continues anti-ICE protests outside county offices
Washington County Invisible began an anti-ICE protest outside the county building before the start of the Feb. 24 commissioners meeting.
The protest group was not as large recent anti-ICE protests during county meetings. About 10 protestors were outside, though a few more joined shortly later. Eric Schwartz, co-founder of the local Indivisible group, said some members had gone inside for the commissioners meeting.
The temperature was in the mid 20s and the wind chill was around 11 degrees, according to the National Weather Service's website.
Dawn Didion, a Hagerstown resident and Indivisible member, said her main concern is the "cruelty and inhumanity of ICE and our County Commissioners welcoming them into our community. It's embarrassing, them not willing to address this openly," she said standing outside as the meeting was about to begin inside.
Asked what her main concern was, Indivisible member and county resident Sandy Foles said, "Where to start. I guess the government-sanctioned cruelty in our own backyard."
"We haven't been able to have a voice (in this)," she said.
A small group from Rapid Response Choir joined the protest and began singing, with its members wearing pink vests.
Choir member Kate Sugarman said the choir "responds to injustice" and sings "joy with resistance." The group is from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
Yellow tape reading "sheriff line do not cross" was seen stretched in front of most of the patio in front of the county administration building, with protestors standing on the sidewalk below.
Sheriff Brian Albert said the tape was installed Tuesday morning, Feb. 24, to keep protestors from blocking fire exits.
Schwartz said protestors had previously stood on the patio.
Regarding an inquiry Feb. 3 about an earlier Indivisible protest outside the county building, county spokesperson Danielle Weaver said at the time that "Washington County respects the public's right to peacefully assemble and express their views. The rally occurred outside the County Administration Building and did not disrupt county operations or the Board meeting."
Weaver, on Feb. 24, wrote in an email that the tape "was a precautionary step to maintain public safety and ensure clear ingress and egress for those conducting business inside" the county building.
A K-9 team also was seen patrolling in front of the county building during the Feb. 24 protest.
Hagerstown Fire Marshal Dale Fishack was patrolling with his K-9 partner, Ruby, a black Labrador. Fishack was wearing a patch on his uniform that read "Explosives Canine Certified" and "ATF National Odor Recognition Test," for Ruby's certification. Fishack said Ruby is not an ATF dog, but a city-owned dog who tested through ATF.
Albert said Fishack and Ruby were asked to go to the county building for two reasons.
One reason was to enforce how many people can be in the commissioners meeting room and in the hallway because Fishack is a fire marshal, Albert said.
Second, Fishack was asked to patrol with Ruby in case someone brought explosives to the area, according to Fishack and Albert.
No explosives had been detected, Fishack said.
Albert said Fishack had been to the last few protests by the county building.
Hagerstown officials discuss water service for planned ICE facility
During a Feb. 17 Hagerstown mayor and City Council work session, the council discussed with the city's utility director water service for the Wright Road warehouse since the city provides the public water connection there.
City Administrator Scott Nicewarner, in a Feb. 24 email, said the city hasn't received a request for additional water service capacity or infrastructure for the 16220 Wright Road property.
Utilities Director Nancy Hausrath, during the work session, said the property had purchased water allocation for 800 gallons a day. That amount would be "very low" if the Wright Road facility uses were to include laundry, food service and showers.
That's not even a gallon per person a day when considering the possibility of 1,500 people, Hausrath said, referring to reports of the facility accommodating 1,500 beds. For perspective, she said a conversation toilet uses 1.5 gallons of water.
The warehouse has a 2-inch domestic service line that can produce 200 gallons per minute for continuous flow, said Hausrath, according to a YouTube video of the work session.
The property owner would likely need to upgrade the water service if the building is used for housing because that meter would not be sufficient for peak usage, she said.
According to the discussion and confirmed by Nicewarner, the City Council would be required to approve water service under two conditions, neither of which apply regarding the Wright Road property.
Those conditions are:
The city water department cannot deny an extension of water service or a request to increase water allocation unless the water department has a valid, sufficient reason to deny that service, city officials said during the work session.
Referring to City Code, Councilman Kristin Aleshire said, "When you read that, it doesn't give us some blanket autonomy to say, 'We just don't feel like it today.' "
Councilwoman Caroline Anderson asked if the city would have discretion to disconnect water if at some point there is a public health issue.
Hausrath said when utility officials consider terminating a customer's service, they take into consideration not creating a public health situation.
"I can honestly say I've never been put in that situation. I would have to consult with legal counsel to say if this situation occurred, could we terminate water service?" Hausrath said.
The Herald-Mail
Feb. 25, 2026, 8:36 a.m. ET
- The State of Maryland is suing the Department of Homeland Security to block the conversion of a Washington County warehouse into an immigrant detention center.
- The lawsuit alleges federal authorities violated environmental and administrative laws by not conducting a public review before purchasing the property.
- Homeland Security stated the lawsuit is a political attempt to stop immigration enforcement, not a genuine environmental concern.
- Local protests have occurred, while Washington County officials say they have no jurisdiction over the federally-owned property.
Public health and environmental concerns are among the reasons cited by the State of Maryland's lawsuit that asks a federal court to vacate the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security's purchase of a Washington County warehouse to serve as an immigrant detention center.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Monday, Feb. 23, by the Maryland Attorney General's office.
It concerns an 825,620-square-foot mega warehouse at 16220 Wright Road near Williamsport that Homeland Security and ICE purchased on Jan. 16 for $102.4 million from FRIND-Hopewell LLC with an address in Washington, D.C., according to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation's website.
In a Jan. 28 response to The Herald-Mail, an ICE spokesperson said that while there were no new detention centers to announce at the time, "These will not be warehouses — they will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards."
ICE could be planning to convert the Wright Road warehouse for its use by September 2026, according to the state's lawsuit.
News reports about ICE's plans for an immigrant detention center in Washington County, and then the publicizing of the warehouse purchase, have led to local protests against ICE. Washington County Indivisible has organized several such protests, including one on Tuesday morning, Feb. 24, outside the Washington County Administration Building in downtown Hagerstown, and one on Jan. 20 at Public Square that was attended by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-6th.
What does the Maryland Attorney General's lawsuit against Homeland Security say?
The state's lawsuit says the defendants "have run roughshod over federal law and trampled on the State's interests" in "their zeal to purchase" the Wright Road warehouse to convert it into an immigrant detention facility.
The defendants are Homeland Security, ICE, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.
The state alleges federal authorities disregarded requirements of both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which "serve to ensure federal agencies act in a transparent manner, engage in reasoned decision-making, and analyze feasible alternatives."
"Specifically, NEPA requires federal agencies to prepare a detailed statement of environmental impacts before taking final action, ensuring both that environmental considerations are integrated into the decision-making process and that States, interested parties, and members of the public have access to relevant information so they may play an informed role in the decision-making process and implementation. Likewise, the APA requires reasoned decision-making, including consideration of reasonable alternatives," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit accuses Homeland Security and ICE of not conducting a "public NEPA review of the Project's likely impacts on the environment" before buying the warehouse to convert it into an immigration detention center.
Little information has been provided to the state about plans for the property, which keeps the state from being able to fully assess the "harm" the project could have on the state's "sovereign interests," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit includes a copy of a Jan. 12 letter a Homeland Security official sent to the Maryland Historical Trust that the lawsuit states includes a "general, non-exhaustive list of possible" improvements to convert the warehouse into a detention facility.
According to Homeland Security's letter, the potential improvements include:
- Installing, upgrading, or rehabilitating existing parking areas, fencing, site lighting, landscaping, drainage/stormwater, recreation areas, and cameras
- Possibly installing tentage and a guard shack
- Painting or sealing the exterior of the structure
- Installing, removing, or modifying bays (truck bays, window bays, or doors)
- Repairing or replacing the existing roof or cladding materials
- Adding security equipment
- Adding exterior personnel/guest access controls
- Renovating or rebuilding the interior "to support ICE operational requirements, which may include but are not limited to construction of holding and processing spaces, office space, public-facing visitor spaces, and installation of amenities, such as cafeterias, bathrooms, and health care spaces."
The lawsuit states the historical trust sent a second letter to Homeland Security requesting more information after the trust received comments "calling into question" the project's scope.
State officials, in the lawsuit, said they expect the detention facility will put "additional burdens on essential public services in light of public reporting of conditions in detention facilities around the country ..."
The lawsuit states that converting the warehouse into a detention facility "could overwhelm the existing sewer lines serving the property."
A 1,500-bed facility could produce 90,000 gallons of wastewater a day, state officials project in the lawsuit. The estimated average daily wastewater flow for the warehouse is 24,768.6 gallons a day.
The state has an interest in protecting its waterways for recreational and environmental reasons, with the lawsuit noting the nearby Semple Run. Semple Run discharges into the Conococheague Creek, a major tributary of the Potomac River.
The lawsuit mentions state-protected aquatic species in waters adjacent to and downstream from the warehouse. The state considers the brook floater mussel and green floater mussel, both found in the Potomac downstream of the Conococheague, to be endangered species. The green floater mussel is proposed to be included on the list of federally threatened species.
Also mentioned are the Allegheny pearl dace and Appalachian springsnail, which the state considers to be "in need of conservation."
The lawsuit also states that the defendants haven't provided "any indication of whether they anticipate having to close roads in the area to accommodate traffic to and from the facility" or what other traffic impacts the facility could have.
The Herald-Mail submitted a Public Information Act request with Washington County government on Feb. 10 asking, among other things, if the county received any requests to limit access to the new stretch of Wright Road in front of the warehouse Homeland Security/ICE purchased.
The Herald-Mail, on Feb. 24, received an update from the county saying it would take longer than 10 working days to retrieve, review, and produce the records.
The warehouse sits along a recently relocated section of Wright Road that connects a narrow two-lane stretch of Hopewell Road to an older section of Wright Road that intersects Elliott Parkway. Elliott Parkway is part of a business park.
Semple Run is south of the warehouse and along an older section of Wright Road, south of the newer stretch of Wright Road. A one-lane bridge along nearby Hopewell Road crosses Semple Run.
Homeland Security responds to Maryland lawsuit over warehouse purchase
A Homeland Security spokesperson, via email on the afternoon of Feb. 24, provided The Herald-Mail the following comment regarding the state's lawsuit.
"Let's be honest about this. This isn't about the environment. It's about trying to stop President Trump from making America safe again. The left didn't care about the mountains of litter that illegals aliens dropped on ranches and riverbeds during Biden's border crisis. They're feigning concern now because they want those same illegal aliens to stay forever and vote here.
"These will not be warehouses — they will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.
"Secretary Noem has stated that she is willing to work with officials on both sides of the aisle to expand detention space to help ICE law enforcement carry out the largest deportation effort in American history.
"ICE is targeting criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members and more. 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities."
What does Washington County government say?
The Washington County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution on Feb. 10 that supports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and local law enforcement.
The commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the resolution, to a chorus of boos from the meeting room gallery, according to a YouTube video of the meeting. Commissioner Derek Harvey was absent from that meeting and the one on Feb. 24.
On Tuesday, Feb. 24, County Administrator Michelle Gordon read a statement reinforcing statements the commissioners had previously made regarding the property purchased for ICE, according to a YouTube livestream of the meeting.
"We understand that the community is concerned. Washington County was not involved in the site selection process regarding the new facility that will be opened in Williamsport.
"We were not consulted by the federal government or the private entity involved in the sales transaction of an existing structure. This is now a property owned by the federal goverment. As such, Washington County government has no jurisdiction and we are not the governing body that will be overseeing this project," Gordon said.
Gordon was interrupted by a member of the audience who said he had a question, according to a YouTube video of the meeting. Gordon said "This is not an interactive meeting" and Commissioners President John Barr asked the man to leave.
When Gordon continued she said there had been suggestions by noncounty and county residents that compared the Williamsport-area project to a facility in Howard County, Maryland, and two recent actions taken by government in that county.
The Baltimore Banner, on Feb. 2, reported that Howard County revoked a building permit for a private detention facility proposed in Elkridge that is proposed to be used by ICE.
"Those are not a fair comparison," Gordon said. "The example from Howard County involved a building owned by a private company, which is not the case here in Washington County, where the building is owned by the federal government."
"The suggestions being made would require a legal opinion and interpretation of the potential liability of all parties involved both for the county and personally for individuals taking potentially adverse actions against another organization.
"Additionally, a legal opinion and interpretation would be needed regarding the hierarchy and interactions between local, state and federal government authority and jurisdiction, all of which we are not able to comment on at this time," Gordon said.
Gordon noted a Jan. 28 statement from the county and the Feb. 10 resolution the commissioners approved.
The Jan. 28 statement said the county's Historic District Commission, Washington County Planning and Zoning Department, received a letter on Jan. 14 from Homeland Security. The letter indicated Homeland Security was analyzing the potential purchase of the warehouse at 10900 Hopewell Road (A/K/A 16220 Wright Road).
In the letter, DHS communicated that the undertaking results "in a finding of No Historic Properties Affected". The federal law in question does not give the County any opportunity to overrule that determination, according to the county statement.
Gordon, on Feb. 24, said the "county has not been provided with any project information from the federal government for their property on Wright Road and Washington County is not going to speculate on future use or development of this site."
Washington County Indivisible continues anti-ICE protests outside county offices
Washington County Invisible began an anti-ICE protest outside the county building before the start of the Feb. 24 commissioners meeting.
The protest group was not as large recent anti-ICE protests during county meetings. About 10 protestors were outside, though a few more joined shortly later. Eric Schwartz, co-founder of the local Indivisible group, said some members had gone inside for the commissioners meeting.
The temperature was in the mid 20s and the wind chill was around 11 degrees, according to the National Weather Service's website.
Dawn Didion, a Hagerstown resident and Indivisible member, said her main concern is the "cruelty and inhumanity of ICE and our County Commissioners welcoming them into our community. It's embarrassing, them not willing to address this openly," she said standing outside as the meeting was about to begin inside.
Asked what her main concern was, Indivisible member and county resident Sandy Foles said, "Where to start. I guess the government-sanctioned cruelty in our own backyard."
"We haven't been able to have a voice (in this)," she said.
A small group from Rapid Response Choir joined the protest and began singing, with its members wearing pink vests.
Choir member Kate Sugarman said the choir "responds to injustice" and sings "joy with resistance." The group is from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
Yellow tape reading "sheriff line do not cross" was seen stretched in front of most of the patio in front of the county administration building, with protestors standing on the sidewalk below.
Sheriff Brian Albert said the tape was installed Tuesday morning, Feb. 24, to keep protestors from blocking fire exits.
Schwartz said protestors had previously stood on the patio.
Regarding an inquiry Feb. 3 about an earlier Indivisible protest outside the county building, county spokesperson Danielle Weaver said at the time that "Washington County respects the public's right to peacefully assemble and express their views. The rally occurred outside the County Administration Building and did not disrupt county operations or the Board meeting."
Weaver, on Feb. 24, wrote in an email that the tape "was a precautionary step to maintain public safety and ensure clear ingress and egress for those conducting business inside" the county building.
A K-9 team also was seen patrolling in front of the county building during the Feb. 24 protest.
Hagerstown Fire Marshal Dale Fishack was patrolling with his K-9 partner, Ruby, a black Labrador. Fishack was wearing a patch on his uniform that read "Explosives Canine Certified" and "ATF National Odor Recognition Test," for Ruby's certification. Fishack said Ruby is not an ATF dog, but a city-owned dog who tested through ATF.
Albert said Fishack and Ruby were asked to go to the county building for two reasons.
One reason was to enforce how many people can be in the commissioners meeting room and in the hallway because Fishack is a fire marshal, Albert said.
Second, Fishack was asked to patrol with Ruby in case someone brought explosives to the area, according to Fishack and Albert.
No explosives had been detected, Fishack said.
Albert said Fishack had been to the last few protests by the county building.
Hagerstown officials discuss water service for planned ICE facility
During a Feb. 17 Hagerstown mayor and City Council work session, the council discussed with the city's utility director water service for the Wright Road warehouse since the city provides the public water connection there.
City Administrator Scott Nicewarner, in a Feb. 24 email, said the city hasn't received a request for additional water service capacity or infrastructure for the 16220 Wright Road property.
Utilities Director Nancy Hausrath, during the work session, said the property had purchased water allocation for 800 gallons a day. That amount would be "very low" if the Wright Road facility uses were to include laundry, food service and showers.
That's not even a gallon per person a day when considering the possibility of 1,500 people, Hausrath said, referring to reports of the facility accommodating 1,500 beds. For perspective, she said a conversation toilet uses 1.5 gallons of water.
The warehouse has a 2-inch domestic service line that can produce 200 gallons per minute for continuous flow, said Hausrath, according to a YouTube video of the work session.
The property owner would likely need to upgrade the water service if the building is used for housing because that meter would not be sufficient for peak usage, she said.
According to the discussion and confirmed by Nicewarner, the City Council would be required to approve water service under two conditions, neither of which apply regarding the Wright Road property.
Those conditions are:
- When a property is in the Urban Growth Area, which is outside the city's Medium-Range Growth Area (MRGA).
- When there is a transfer of water allocation from inside city limits, within the MRGA.
The city water department cannot deny an extension of water service or a request to increase water allocation unless the water department has a valid, sufficient reason to deny that service, city officials said during the work session.
Referring to City Code, Councilman Kristin Aleshire said, "When you read that, it doesn't give us some blanket autonomy to say, 'We just don't feel like it today.' "
Councilwoman Caroline Anderson asked if the city would have discretion to disconnect water if at some point there is a public health issue.
Hausrath said when utility officials consider terminating a customer's service, they take into consideration not creating a public health situation.
"I can honestly say I've never been put in that situation. I would have to consult with legal counsel to say if this situation occurred, could we terminate water service?" Hausrath said.
Added 2/20/26
See this article with pictures at https://www.thebanner.com/politics-power/national-politics/proposed-hagerstown-ice-facility-immigration-detention-debate-HZV5LADBPVBIDFHDZVHN3PJIOY/?bis=article-action-link
See this article with pictures at https://www.thebanner.com/politics-power/national-politics/proposed-hagerstown-ice-facility-immigration-detention-debate-HZV5LADBPVBIDFHDZVHN3PJIOY/?bis=article-action-link
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What happens when ICE wants to open a detention facility in your hometown |
This Western Maryland community has been rocked by debate over a proposed warehouse conversion
Daniel Zawodny
2/19/2026 5:30 a.m. EST
Jason McGill and Jeff Latta share a couple of key things in common. They’re both from Hagerstown and participate in ministries to help local people.
But they are on opposite sides of a heated issue that has sharply divided their hometown. McGill believes a planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility on the outskirts of town will harm their community, while Latta sees it as “wonderful” job creator.
Such is the tense debate in Western Maryland’s Washington County, where the federal Department of Homeland Security bought an 825,000-square-foot warehouse with plans to retrofit it into a detention facility for up to 1,500 immigrants.
Opponents say county government is failing residents by refusing to try to stop ICE from moving in.
“I would want people to stand up for my rights, so we need to stand up for their rights as well,” said McGill, who runs a local bookstore and nonprofit.
Others call it a necessary part of President Donald Trump’s stepped-up immigration enforcement strategy.
“There has to be somewhere for them,” Latta said of detainees suspected of residing in the country without legal status.
Almost everyone is grappling with what it means to have the immigration crackdown come to their backyard. Will more detention beds tax infrastructure such as the water supply? What about traffic, security and the capacity of local emergency services?
County officials have said they don’t have the answers because, in part, the federal government hasn’t shared plans with them.
Maryland Democrats took a crack at effectively banning ICE detention facilities in the state years ago by passing the Dignity Not Detention law. Now, in Trump’s second term, they are trying to push even further to match the White House’s more aggressive strategy.
This month, Gov. Wes Moore expressed concern over the facility’s economic and infrastructure impact and “a troubling lack of transparency” over the site’s acquisition in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney, who represents the Hagerstown area in Congress, introduced a bill to prohibit federal funding for the site. There’s also a new bill introduced in Annapolis to ban facilities similar to the one in the federal plan.
In Howard County, Executive Calvin Ball revoked the permits for a planned Elkridge ICE facility last month, and the Baltimore County Council passed legislation Tuesday banning immigration detention centers after reports of a newly leased ICE office in Hunt Valley.
But in politically conservative Washington County, one of Maryland’s nine former 287(g) jurisdictions where the local sheriff’s department had a collaborative agreement with ICE, a muted government response has set the stage for a fierce debate.
Dividing a community
The warehouse sits on the outskirts of Williamsport, a small, bucolic town just southwest of Hagerstown dotted with plaques commemorating the area’s Civil War history.
In the shadow of a decommissioned power plant on the eastern shore of the Potomac River, Williamsport was once a crossing point for Union and Confederate troops and a way station along the Virginia Path, a major route for enslaved people fleeing captivity to Pennsylvania.
Locals say the massive, white-and-blue building on a winding residential road was designed as a mundane distribution facility, but a big box company like Amazon never moved in. Now the Department of Homeland Security is preparing it for its own kind of logistics.
In 2024, 65% of Williamsport’s roughly 2,000 voters cast ballots for Trump, who rode explosive rhetoric about immigration to the White House for a second term, putting it five percentage points higher than all of Washington County but far from the reddest census tract in Maryland.
During The Banner’s visit this month, many were reticent to talk about the proposed facility. There are a number of houses right across the street, but homeowners declined to talk or didn’t respond to requests. A patron at a local bar joked they’d need a couple more drinks before offering an on-the-record opinion.
For now, the opponents and supporters have been more vocal in the county seat of Hagerstown, the bigger and more politically liberal nearby city.
“I’m very concerned about watching what happens when ICE comes into a local community and the impact that it has on individuals and businesses,” said Dawn Didion, 64.
Didion, a Hagerstown resident who joined a recent demonstration outside a County Commission meeting, said she and her allies watched what has transpired in Minneapolis and other cities and fear the same show of force in their community.
Last week, the County Commission voted unanimously to express full support for ICE in “their efforts to maintain public safety and uphold the rule of law.” But Didion said that’s not the reality she sees.
ICE agents “cross any line they want to. They believe they are above the law,” she said.
Although Washington County is majority non-Hispanic white, the area has a small but visible Latino immigrant community, said immigration attorney Alexander Zeno, along with slowly growing pockets of African and Haitian immigrants. Some opponents of the warehouse cited the plight of Melissa Tran, a beloved Hagerstown resident deported to her native Vietnam last year.
“We live in a very diverse community, and these people contribute to our community every day,” 29-year-old Claire Connor said.
As news of the facility spread, the all-Republican county commissioners have tried to keep a lid on public discussions despite protests.
At the Feb. 3 meeting, County Administrator Michelle Gordon read a prepared statement, ceding the federal government has wide latitude and the county was powerless to stop it. No public comment was allowed.
That was apparently because earlier disruptions at meetings unrelated to ICE had caused the commissioners to pause public comment. Instead, after Gordon read the statement, the commissioners moved on to routine matters like snow removal while shouts of “ICE out now” and “do your job” could be heard from outside their chambers.
After Commission President John Barr highlighted the county’s recent Groundhog Day celebration as an expression of community values, some of the few dozen protesters seated in front of him holding signs with anti-ICE messages let out gasps and sighs.
For Taj Smith, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, there was no forgiving the commissioners for their failure to try to use zoning and infrastructure regulation to gum up, or even stop, ICE’s plan.
“At a minimum, they should be saying, ‘Let us figure out what our options are, we’re working on it ... we hear what you’re saying,” said Smith, who is running for a seat on the commission in November.
Hagerstown resident Shaun Porter said concerns like Smith’s are woefully misplaced. Porter supports the facility and questioned why demonstrators directed their ire at their local government when this was a decision made in Washington.
Attending a recent commission meeting to counter the protesters outside, Porter said the facility will “facilitate what we want to see happen” by allowing for the arrest and deportation of more people in the country unlawfully.
There was even a flash of violence at the demonstration. A man sporting a bright red MAGA cap allegedly struck a protester outside the Feb. 3 meeting after a confrontation and was handcuffed by a sheriff’s deputy.
County officials are saying little about a development they say they could not block even if they wanted to.
Danielle Weaver, a spokesperson for Washington County government, said in an email there were “no plans for further discussion” of the facility.
Stitching it back together
Just down the street from the county building, Latta and his team at the Mount Hope Center, a food pantry and prison ministry, see dozens of people in line to receive fresh produce every day.
The aging building feels like a creaky VFW hall, its marque displaying a clock with the words “time to pray.” Team members ask people to show a photo ID to receive food, and, lately, they’ve been noticing more people using foreign passports.
“We’ll help anybody that comes in. We don’t ask any questions,” said Mike Williams, Latta’s colleague.
Latta and Williams support the future ICE facility as a job creator, a way to repurpose vacant space and a necessary part of immigration enforcement. But the center’s director, Wanda Singleton, has a different view. The mention of it — and the images of ICE enforcement around the country — made her bristle.
“The Statue of Liberty is there for a reason, to welcome people. There’s gotta be a way to do that without terrorizing people,” she said.
Singleton wants a moderate, practical yet compassionate approach to immigration she hasn’t seen from multiple administrations. Even Latta and Williams said they support people who can work and support themselves coming to the U.S. to seek a better life.
Down the street at Eliza’s House, McGill, its director, opposes the facility but also wants to get people to talk about it.
Like Mount Hope, Eliza’s House is a place where people who are unhoused can get food and clothes. But it looks quite different, a bit more modern, even serving as a space to just hang out, do crafts and hold meetings.
“Everything that we center here is love and community,” McGill said.
McGill believes the ICE facility does the opposite. It punishes, alienates, divides. He hopes Eliza’s House can be a place where community members learn from one another, combat misinformation and encourage mutual care.
“We have to be out there speaking truth to power,” McGill said. “The more you come here, the more you’re going to learn about the truth.”
Daniel Zawodny
2/19/2026 5:30 a.m. EST
Jason McGill and Jeff Latta share a couple of key things in common. They’re both from Hagerstown and participate in ministries to help local people.
But they are on opposite sides of a heated issue that has sharply divided their hometown. McGill believes a planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility on the outskirts of town will harm their community, while Latta sees it as “wonderful” job creator.
Such is the tense debate in Western Maryland’s Washington County, where the federal Department of Homeland Security bought an 825,000-square-foot warehouse with plans to retrofit it into a detention facility for up to 1,500 immigrants.
Opponents say county government is failing residents by refusing to try to stop ICE from moving in.
“I would want people to stand up for my rights, so we need to stand up for their rights as well,” said McGill, who runs a local bookstore and nonprofit.
Others call it a necessary part of President Donald Trump’s stepped-up immigration enforcement strategy.
“There has to be somewhere for them,” Latta said of detainees suspected of residing in the country without legal status.
Almost everyone is grappling with what it means to have the immigration crackdown come to their backyard. Will more detention beds tax infrastructure such as the water supply? What about traffic, security and the capacity of local emergency services?
County officials have said they don’t have the answers because, in part, the federal government hasn’t shared plans with them.
Maryland Democrats took a crack at effectively banning ICE detention facilities in the state years ago by passing the Dignity Not Detention law. Now, in Trump’s second term, they are trying to push even further to match the White House’s more aggressive strategy.
This month, Gov. Wes Moore expressed concern over the facility’s economic and infrastructure impact and “a troubling lack of transparency” over the site’s acquisition in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney, who represents the Hagerstown area in Congress, introduced a bill to prohibit federal funding for the site. There’s also a new bill introduced in Annapolis to ban facilities similar to the one in the federal plan.
In Howard County, Executive Calvin Ball revoked the permits for a planned Elkridge ICE facility last month, and the Baltimore County Council passed legislation Tuesday banning immigration detention centers after reports of a newly leased ICE office in Hunt Valley.
But in politically conservative Washington County, one of Maryland’s nine former 287(g) jurisdictions where the local sheriff’s department had a collaborative agreement with ICE, a muted government response has set the stage for a fierce debate.
Dividing a community
The warehouse sits on the outskirts of Williamsport, a small, bucolic town just southwest of Hagerstown dotted with plaques commemorating the area’s Civil War history.
In the shadow of a decommissioned power plant on the eastern shore of the Potomac River, Williamsport was once a crossing point for Union and Confederate troops and a way station along the Virginia Path, a major route for enslaved people fleeing captivity to Pennsylvania.
Locals say the massive, white-and-blue building on a winding residential road was designed as a mundane distribution facility, but a big box company like Amazon never moved in. Now the Department of Homeland Security is preparing it for its own kind of logistics.
In 2024, 65% of Williamsport’s roughly 2,000 voters cast ballots for Trump, who rode explosive rhetoric about immigration to the White House for a second term, putting it five percentage points higher than all of Washington County but far from the reddest census tract in Maryland.
During The Banner’s visit this month, many were reticent to talk about the proposed facility. There are a number of houses right across the street, but homeowners declined to talk or didn’t respond to requests. A patron at a local bar joked they’d need a couple more drinks before offering an on-the-record opinion.
For now, the opponents and supporters have been more vocal in the county seat of Hagerstown, the bigger and more politically liberal nearby city.
“I’m very concerned about watching what happens when ICE comes into a local community and the impact that it has on individuals and businesses,” said Dawn Didion, 64.
Didion, a Hagerstown resident who joined a recent demonstration outside a County Commission meeting, said she and her allies watched what has transpired in Minneapolis and other cities and fear the same show of force in their community.
Last week, the County Commission voted unanimously to express full support for ICE in “their efforts to maintain public safety and uphold the rule of law.” But Didion said that’s not the reality she sees.
ICE agents “cross any line they want to. They believe they are above the law,” she said.
Although Washington County is majority non-Hispanic white, the area has a small but visible Latino immigrant community, said immigration attorney Alexander Zeno, along with slowly growing pockets of African and Haitian immigrants. Some opponents of the warehouse cited the plight of Melissa Tran, a beloved Hagerstown resident deported to her native Vietnam last year.
“We live in a very diverse community, and these people contribute to our community every day,” 29-year-old Claire Connor said.
As news of the facility spread, the all-Republican county commissioners have tried to keep a lid on public discussions despite protests.
At the Feb. 3 meeting, County Administrator Michelle Gordon read a prepared statement, ceding the federal government has wide latitude and the county was powerless to stop it. No public comment was allowed.
That was apparently because earlier disruptions at meetings unrelated to ICE had caused the commissioners to pause public comment. Instead, after Gordon read the statement, the commissioners moved on to routine matters like snow removal while shouts of “ICE out now” and “do your job” could be heard from outside their chambers.
After Commission President John Barr highlighted the county’s recent Groundhog Day celebration as an expression of community values, some of the few dozen protesters seated in front of him holding signs with anti-ICE messages let out gasps and sighs.
For Taj Smith, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, there was no forgiving the commissioners for their failure to try to use zoning and infrastructure regulation to gum up, or even stop, ICE’s plan.
“At a minimum, they should be saying, ‘Let us figure out what our options are, we’re working on it ... we hear what you’re saying,” said Smith, who is running for a seat on the commission in November.
Hagerstown resident Shaun Porter said concerns like Smith’s are woefully misplaced. Porter supports the facility and questioned why demonstrators directed their ire at their local government when this was a decision made in Washington.
Attending a recent commission meeting to counter the protesters outside, Porter said the facility will “facilitate what we want to see happen” by allowing for the arrest and deportation of more people in the country unlawfully.
There was even a flash of violence at the demonstration. A man sporting a bright red MAGA cap allegedly struck a protester outside the Feb. 3 meeting after a confrontation and was handcuffed by a sheriff’s deputy.
County officials are saying little about a development they say they could not block even if they wanted to.
Danielle Weaver, a spokesperson for Washington County government, said in an email there were “no plans for further discussion” of the facility.
Stitching it back together
Just down the street from the county building, Latta and his team at the Mount Hope Center, a food pantry and prison ministry, see dozens of people in line to receive fresh produce every day.
The aging building feels like a creaky VFW hall, its marque displaying a clock with the words “time to pray.” Team members ask people to show a photo ID to receive food, and, lately, they’ve been noticing more people using foreign passports.
“We’ll help anybody that comes in. We don’t ask any questions,” said Mike Williams, Latta’s colleague.
Latta and Williams support the future ICE facility as a job creator, a way to repurpose vacant space and a necessary part of immigration enforcement. But the center’s director, Wanda Singleton, has a different view. The mention of it — and the images of ICE enforcement around the country — made her bristle.
“The Statue of Liberty is there for a reason, to welcome people. There’s gotta be a way to do that without terrorizing people,” she said.
Singleton wants a moderate, practical yet compassionate approach to immigration she hasn’t seen from multiple administrations. Even Latta and Williams said they support people who can work and support themselves coming to the U.S. to seek a better life.
Down the street at Eliza’s House, McGill, its director, opposes the facility but also wants to get people to talk about it.
Like Mount Hope, Eliza’s House is a place where people who are unhoused can get food and clothes. But it looks quite different, a bit more modern, even serving as a space to just hang out, do crafts and hold meetings.
“Everything that we center here is love and community,” McGill said.
McGill believes the ICE facility does the opposite. It punishes, alienates, divides. He hopes Eliza’s House can be a place where community members learn from one another, combat misinformation and encourage mutual care.
“We have to be out there speaking truth to power,” McGill said. “The more you come here, the more you’re going to learn about the truth.”
added 2/18/26
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McClain Delaney differs with county officials on possible ICE facility |
Katelynn Winebrenner
Capital News Service
Feb. 18, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET
As speculation about the opening of a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Washington County circulates, county and federal officials are clashing over the next course of action.
The Washington County Board of Commissioners recently passed a resolution of support for the Department of Homeland Security. But U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-6th, has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to prohibit any Congressional funding for such a center.
"This is not just a little facility," McClain Delaney told Capital News Service in an interview. "It is actually one that is going to be precedent-setting for our whole country."
The Washington County Public Relations and Marketing Department released a statement at the end of January that said the Department of Homeland Security had reached out to the county regarding a "new ICE Baltimore Processing Facility."
After this announcement, McClain Delaney said she confirmed Homeland Security's purchase of a warehouse near Williamsport, Maryland, by looking at local property records. The 825,000-square-foot property would have space for 1,500 beds, she said.
Since the news broke, many residents of Washington County have tried reaching out to officials with questions about the facility and what could be done to stop it, but responses have been scarce.
“It's been two meetings now that the warehouse has been under scrutiny here in the community, that it's all finally come to light, and at neither of those two meetings has a commissioner said a word about the warehouse situation,” said Dave Williams, a member of the progressive activist group Washington County Indivisible.
County leaders' inboxes have been overwhelmed by residents, said Commissioner John Barr, the board's president, on News Talk 103.7 FM earlier this month. Certain messages have become threatening, he added.
"It's very concerning, and I think the rhetoric needs to calm down," Barr said. "If they are coming and we can't stop it, I think we need to put our heads together, and as they always say, make lemonade out of lemons."
CNS reached out to Barr and the other board members to discuss the facility but was not able to speak or email with them directly.
Residents like Williams are unhappy with Barr's message.
"It was just disgusting," Williams said. "The lemon that he's talking about is basically a concentration camp, so how do you make lemonade out of something like that? It was an embarrassing statement for him to make."
During the board's Tuesday, Feb. 10, meeting, residents gathered to hear and protest the county's resolution of support.
"Most of the people entering the room were opposed to the resolution, and they were opposed to the whole warehouse detention center concept," Williams, who attended the meeting, said. "So, most of the energy was negative."
As the board began introducing the resolution, defiant coughs and whistles blew through the crowd.
"If there's any additional noise, outcries, comments," Barr said, "I will suspend this meeting."
The resolution expressed the county's "full support for DHS and ICE," declaring "its intent to support … enforcement of our nation's borders, safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system, and ensuring that all persons are treated with dignity and compassion within our jurisdiction."
As the five-member board voted 4-0 to approve the resolution — with Commissioner Derek Harvey absent — loud boos and another sharp whistle erupted from the audience.
"Clear the room," Barr said as he abruptly suspended the meeting and officials ushered the audience out of the room.
The county statement announcing the proposed facility referred to the supremacy clause, a constitutional principle that states federal authority supersedes local, to explain its lack of control over the situation.
However, McClain Delaney said the clause might be negotiable in situations like this.
"When there are unconstitutional violations or there are human rights violations, our state and our governor can say no," she said. "When the health and well being of residents within the state that are my constituents are not treated with basic human rights, then we say, no."
Capital News Service
Feb. 18, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET
- Washington County officials and a U.S. Representative are at odds over a proposed ICE facility.
- The Washington County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution supporting the Department of Homeland Security.
- Rep. April McClain Delaney has introduced legislation to block Congressional funding for the center.
- Local residents have protested the proposed facility and the county's resolution of support.
As speculation about the opening of a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Washington County circulates, county and federal officials are clashing over the next course of action.
The Washington County Board of Commissioners recently passed a resolution of support for the Department of Homeland Security. But U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-6th, has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to prohibit any Congressional funding for such a center.
"This is not just a little facility," McClain Delaney told Capital News Service in an interview. "It is actually one that is going to be precedent-setting for our whole country."
The Washington County Public Relations and Marketing Department released a statement at the end of January that said the Department of Homeland Security had reached out to the county regarding a "new ICE Baltimore Processing Facility."
After this announcement, McClain Delaney said she confirmed Homeland Security's purchase of a warehouse near Williamsport, Maryland, by looking at local property records. The 825,000-square-foot property would have space for 1,500 beds, she said.
Since the news broke, many residents of Washington County have tried reaching out to officials with questions about the facility and what could be done to stop it, but responses have been scarce.
“It's been two meetings now that the warehouse has been under scrutiny here in the community, that it's all finally come to light, and at neither of those two meetings has a commissioner said a word about the warehouse situation,” said Dave Williams, a member of the progressive activist group Washington County Indivisible.
County leaders' inboxes have been overwhelmed by residents, said Commissioner John Barr, the board's president, on News Talk 103.7 FM earlier this month. Certain messages have become threatening, he added.
"It's very concerning, and I think the rhetoric needs to calm down," Barr said. "If they are coming and we can't stop it, I think we need to put our heads together, and as they always say, make lemonade out of lemons."
CNS reached out to Barr and the other board members to discuss the facility but was not able to speak or email with them directly.
Residents like Williams are unhappy with Barr's message.
"It was just disgusting," Williams said. "The lemon that he's talking about is basically a concentration camp, so how do you make lemonade out of something like that? It was an embarrassing statement for him to make."
During the board's Tuesday, Feb. 10, meeting, residents gathered to hear and protest the county's resolution of support.
"Most of the people entering the room were opposed to the resolution, and they were opposed to the whole warehouse detention center concept," Williams, who attended the meeting, said. "So, most of the energy was negative."
As the board began introducing the resolution, defiant coughs and whistles blew through the crowd.
"If there's any additional noise, outcries, comments," Barr said, "I will suspend this meeting."
The resolution expressed the county's "full support for DHS and ICE," declaring "its intent to support … enforcement of our nation's borders, safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system, and ensuring that all persons are treated with dignity and compassion within our jurisdiction."
As the five-member board voted 4-0 to approve the resolution — with Commissioner Derek Harvey absent — loud boos and another sharp whistle erupted from the audience.
"Clear the room," Barr said as he abruptly suspended the meeting and officials ushered the audience out of the room.
The county statement announcing the proposed facility referred to the supremacy clause, a constitutional principle that states federal authority supersedes local, to explain its lack of control over the situation.
However, McClain Delaney said the clause might be negotiable in situations like this.
"When there are unconstitutional violations or there are human rights violations, our state and our governor can say no," she said. "When the health and well being of residents within the state that are my constituents are not treated with basic human rights, then we say, no."
added 2/11/26
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Washington County Commissioners vote 4-0 to support ICE |
Julie E. Greene
The Herald-Mail
Updated Feb. 10, 2026, 4:27 p.m. ET
The Washington County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday morning, Feb. 10 — supporting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and local law enforcement — to a chorus of boos from the meeting room gallery.
The vote came with a group outside the Washington County Administration Building protesting against a proposed ICE immigrant detention center near Williamsport.
The same morning Congresswoman April McClain Delaney's office announced McClain Delaney, D-6th, had introduced legislation prohibiting ICE from establishing or operating a planned immigration detention facility in Washington County.
The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency purchased a warehouse at 16220 Wright Road near Williamsport on Jan. 16 for $102.4 million, according to the deed.
The move came in the wake of The Washington Post reporting on Dec. 24 that the Trump Administration was seeking contractors for a plan that includes renovating industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time, according to a draft solicitation The Post reviewed.
An ICE spokesperson, on Jan. 28, emailed The Herald-Mail that there were no new detention centers to announce at the time.
"These will not be warehouses — they will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space," according to the statement from the ICE spokesperson.
According to the release from McClain Delaney's office, "The Keep ICE Out of Washington County, Maryland Act would bar the use of any Congressionally-appropriated funds for the project and provide a legal pathway for county residents, state and local officials, and members of Congress to challenge the development of any such planned facility in court."
"For DHS to pursue such sweeping and dangerous plans in darkness is yet another example of the Trump Administration acting without transparency, accountability, or regard for human life. I recently saw for myself ICE’s horrendous treatment of detainees at its Baltimore field office, and I refuse to remain silent as they thrust a facility — similar to a private prison — upon Washington County," McClain Delaney said in a release. "I will fight alongside Maryland lawmakers and community members to show up, speak out, and stand resolute in defense of all of our neighbors."
McClain Delaney and Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, both D-Md., also announced Feb. 10 they had sent a letter to the county commissioners expressing their concerns over ICE's plans to convert a warehouse to an immigrant detention facility that could hold up to 1,500 people.
A large number of protestors with Washington County Indivisible protested ICE outside the county building in downtown Hagerstown on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Both Feb. 3 and Feb. 10, sounds from the protestors outdoors could be heard in the commissioners meeting room, according to YouTube videos of the meetings.
There was no discussion amongst the commissioners about the motion to approve the resolution before the Feb. 10 vote.
The county announced on Feb. 9 a revised commissioners' agenda, adding the resolution. The resolution does not specifically mention the proposed immigrant detention facility nor does it mention the Washington County Sheriff's Office's participation in ICE's 287(g) program.
The local 287(g) agreement provides ICE 48 hours to pick up a Washington County Detention Center inmate, who has an ICE detainer, once jail officials notify ICE's Baltimore office that the person is being released from the jail, Sheriff Brian Albert has said. The Maryland House of Delegates and Senate recently passed emergency legislation to ban 287(g) agreements in Maryland. Those bills still need to be approved by the other state chamber before being forwarded to Gov. Wes Moore for his consideration.
What does the Washington County Commissioners resolution supporting ICE say?
The county commissioners' resolution states the board "expresses its full support for DHS and ICE, the Washington County Sheriff's Office and local municipal law enforcement agencies in their efforts to maintain public safety and uphold the rule of law."
It also states the commissioners board encourages "ongoing cooperation and partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to ensure the welfare and security of all citizens and legal residents within our jurisdiction.
"The Board of County Commissioners of Washington County hereby declares its intent to support DHS and ICE in the enforcement of our nation's borders, safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system, and ensuring that all persons are treated with dignity and compassion within our jurisdiction."
Following the vote, boos erupted from the meeting room gallery and Commissioners President John Barr called for the room to be cleared. County Administrator Michelle Gordon ordered the livestream of the meeting to go "off air," according to a YouTube video of the meeting.
Before reading the resolution, Barr asked for respect in the room and said if there was additional noise, outcries or comments he would suspend the meeting. After a whistle sound, Barr said if he heard one more whistle blow he would call a recess.
The commissioners did not raise their hands when voting, but multiple "aye"'s could be heard.
County spokeswoman Danielle Weaver, in an email, confirmed it was a 4-0 vote.
President John Barr, Vice President Jeff Cline, and Commissioners Randy Wagner and Randy Leatherman were present for the vote. Commissioner Derek Harvey was absent from the meeting.
Washington County Indivisible ICE protests and questions for county commissioners
Washington County Indivisible has been trying to get answers from the five commissioners to a list of questions about the proposed ICE detention facility and to see if the commissioners would at least come out and say "we oppose it" or write letters of opposition to Homeland Security, Dave Williams, a member of the local Indivisible group's core leadership group said in a Feb. 3 phone interview.
Asked why Washington County Indivisible was protesting outside the county building, Williams said the commissioners had been unresponsive to emails, no longer provided opportunity for public comment during meetings, and "because there are things the commissioners can do."
Weaver, in a Feb. 3 email, said the decision to no longer offer in-person general public comment during commissioners meetings was made "to ensure meetings remain efficient and focused on agenda items. Residents may still submit written comments or contact commissioners directly."
The last time public comment was listed as its own agenda item during a commissioners meeting was June 3, 2025, Weaver said.
In addition to the commissioners making a public statement, Williams said the Wright Road facility involves county utilities and he expressed concern that the change in use for the warehouse to purportedly house people could affect utility use for the neighborhood.
The list of Indivisible questions for the commissioners, per a list shared by Williams, includes whether the county would hold a public informational meeting to address questions about the warehouse conversion for ICE; what impact there will be on emergency services and local law enforcement; and whether the county can limit or stop additional water/sewer allocation to the facility.
According to Washington County's online zoning map tool, the warehouse property is zoned Industrial General. The tool links to a zoning ordinance document that states penal and correctional institutions, including jails, are a principal permitted use in Industrial General Districts.
Weaver, in an email, said the City of Hagerstown provides water service to the Wright Road facility.
Hagerstown City Administrator Scott Nicewarner, in a Feb. 4 email, said the owner of the Wright Road parcel would have to petition the water department for an allocation increase. If a significant increase is requested, the matter would come before the City Council, he wrote.
As of Feb. 10, the city had not received a request for a water allocation increase for the Wright Road property, according to Nicewarner.
While Nicewarner wrote that city officials would have no idea at this point what effect such a request would have on the city's water system, he said on Feb. 4 that there were no water pressure or water quality issues in that service area at the time.
What the McClain Delaney, Van Hollen and Alsobrooks letter says
The letter that McClain Delaney, Van Hollen and Alsobrooks sent to the Washington County Commissioners on Feb. 10, according to a release from their congressional offices, says:
"We write to express our serious concern regarding today's vote to declare unwavering support for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Further, we want to voice our strong opposition to ICE’s plans to convert a large warehouse near Hagerstown into an immigration detention facility.
"We recognize that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. However, land use, zoning, and the protection of public health, safety, and general welfare are squarely within the authority and responsibility of Washington County. As the County’s governing body, the Board of County Commissioners is charged with applying existing zoning regulations to promote orderly development, prevent incompatible land uses, manage density, protect surrounding property values, and guide growth in accordance with the County’s comprehensive plan. Those responsibilities are not preempted by the Supremacy Clause, nor waived by federal interest in a particular site, particularly when the proposed use represents a dramatic departure from the facility’s original design and intended purpose."
The letter goes on to say that converting a warehouse into a detention facility to house up to 1,500 people could "pose substantial public health and safety risks and place added strain on local hospitals, emergency responders, and already stressed infrastructure, including roads, utilities and water systems. Expanding detention capacity risks entrenching a system that undermines due process, destabilizes communities, and normalizes conditions that Maryland has repeatedly found unacceptable."
McClain Delaney and Van Hollen both attended a Jan. 20 protest in downtown Hagerstown against the proposed ICE facility on Wright Road.
Hagerstown and Williamsport both scheduled to discuss ICE issues
The Hagerstown mayor and City Council's Feb. 10 work session agenda included time to consider questions Councilwoman Caroline Anderson raised at the city's Feb. 3 meeting about the proposed ICE facility.
Mayor Bill McIntire announced during the work session that because a council member was absent, that discussion would be delayed a week so all council members could be present for it.
Anderson was absent, according to the livestream of the meeting on YouTube.
The questions to be considered, according to a city agenda document, include whether the commissioners support the establishment of an ICE detention facility in the county and whether existing water, sewer and treatment infrastructure can accommodate a facility with about 1,500 beds without adversely affecting current residents or future development.
Six people addressed the Williamsport mayor and Town Council on Monday night, Feb. 9, about the proposed ICE facility outside town limits and expressed their opposition and concerns.
Former Williamsport Councilwoman Margaret Yaukey told town officials at the time she was "still hopeful" the county commissioners would vote down the resolution to support ICE.
Williamsport Mayor Bill Green said the town's March 2 work session agenda includes an item to discuss any additional information about the proposed ICE facility on Wright Road and whether town officials want to take a united stance on the issue.
After the meeting, Green said he wished people would quit calling the proposed ICE detention facility the "Williamsport" ICE detention facility and instead call it what it is, the "Washington County detainment" facility because it's not in town limits.
In a phone interview Feb. 10, Green said the proposed ICE facility is going to hurt the town's efforts for years to come because town officials are already getting questions about whether businesses want to continue in town or want to come to the area.
The town, with its history and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park, has been working on drawing more tourists.
Pat Cushwa, who served on Town Council in the 1970s, also addressed town officials Monday night.
Anything town officials can do to put a "brake" on the proposed ICE facility would be appreciated, Cushwa said. She was among speakers to mention the town building up tourism efforts and expressing concern about how the ICE facility would affect that.
Yaukey said the proposed detention facility "is a real challenge to the economic viability of this town."
The town has been on the "razor's edge of success" with its business efforts, experiencing setbacks with the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, she said.
Yaukey said she believes "to support in any shape or form" the ICE facility is "to be on the wrong side of history." And, she said she thinks, "the wrong side of your God."
"It impacts everybody who lives here in town," she said.
Eric Schwartz, co-founder of Washington County Indivisible, told town officials he had no illusions about the council taking an official position. But he urged them as individuals to look into their conscience and think about whether the proposed facility is consistent with their values and the nation's values.
While there hasn't been an armed police force killing unarmed civilians and seizing children to put them in detention here, can they say that will not happen here, Schwartz asked.
Jeff Byron, who grew up in Williamsport and recently returned to the area, said he was distressed to hear about the proposed ICE detention facility. He said the thing that surprises him is that it was "pushed through" and there has been "no transparency."
"I think this is the wrong place for it, close to Williamsport and its historic nature," Byron said.
More than one speaker expressed concern about reporters, cameras and protestors coming to the area due to the proposed facility.
"That's not a good impression to make on the rest of the country," Byron said.
Green and Assistant Mayor Dennis Grove thanked the speakers for coming out and voicing their opinions.
After the meeting, Grove said an ICE detention facility should not be that close to any municipality, whether that's Williamsport or another town.
"It's just not the place it should be," Grove said.
The Herald-Mail
Updated Feb. 10, 2026, 4:27 p.m. ET
- Washington County Commissioners approved a resolution supporting ICE amid protests over a proposed immigrant detention facility.
- U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney introduced legislation to block federal funding for the planned detention center near Williamsport.
- Homeland Security purchased a warehouse for $102.4 million, which could be converted to hold up to 1,500 detainees.
- Local officials and residents have expressed concerns about the facility's impact on public safety, infrastructure, and tourism.
- Williamsport Town Council hears concerns about proposed ICE facility.
The Washington County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday morning, Feb. 10 — supporting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and local law enforcement — to a chorus of boos from the meeting room gallery.
The vote came with a group outside the Washington County Administration Building protesting against a proposed ICE immigrant detention center near Williamsport.
The same morning Congresswoman April McClain Delaney's office announced McClain Delaney, D-6th, had introduced legislation prohibiting ICE from establishing or operating a planned immigration detention facility in Washington County.
The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency purchased a warehouse at 16220 Wright Road near Williamsport on Jan. 16 for $102.4 million, according to the deed.
The move came in the wake of The Washington Post reporting on Dec. 24 that the Trump Administration was seeking contractors for a plan that includes renovating industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time, according to a draft solicitation The Post reviewed.
An ICE spokesperson, on Jan. 28, emailed The Herald-Mail that there were no new detention centers to announce at the time.
"These will not be warehouses — they will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space," according to the statement from the ICE spokesperson.
According to the release from McClain Delaney's office, "The Keep ICE Out of Washington County, Maryland Act would bar the use of any Congressionally-appropriated funds for the project and provide a legal pathway for county residents, state and local officials, and members of Congress to challenge the development of any such planned facility in court."
"For DHS to pursue such sweeping and dangerous plans in darkness is yet another example of the Trump Administration acting without transparency, accountability, or regard for human life. I recently saw for myself ICE’s horrendous treatment of detainees at its Baltimore field office, and I refuse to remain silent as they thrust a facility — similar to a private prison — upon Washington County," McClain Delaney said in a release. "I will fight alongside Maryland lawmakers and community members to show up, speak out, and stand resolute in defense of all of our neighbors."
McClain Delaney and Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, both D-Md., also announced Feb. 10 they had sent a letter to the county commissioners expressing their concerns over ICE's plans to convert a warehouse to an immigrant detention facility that could hold up to 1,500 people.
A large number of protestors with Washington County Indivisible protested ICE outside the county building in downtown Hagerstown on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Both Feb. 3 and Feb. 10, sounds from the protestors outdoors could be heard in the commissioners meeting room, according to YouTube videos of the meetings.
There was no discussion amongst the commissioners about the motion to approve the resolution before the Feb. 10 vote.
The county announced on Feb. 9 a revised commissioners' agenda, adding the resolution. The resolution does not specifically mention the proposed immigrant detention facility nor does it mention the Washington County Sheriff's Office's participation in ICE's 287(g) program.
The local 287(g) agreement provides ICE 48 hours to pick up a Washington County Detention Center inmate, who has an ICE detainer, once jail officials notify ICE's Baltimore office that the person is being released from the jail, Sheriff Brian Albert has said. The Maryland House of Delegates and Senate recently passed emergency legislation to ban 287(g) agreements in Maryland. Those bills still need to be approved by the other state chamber before being forwarded to Gov. Wes Moore for his consideration.
What does the Washington County Commissioners resolution supporting ICE say?
The county commissioners' resolution states the board "expresses its full support for DHS and ICE, the Washington County Sheriff's Office and local municipal law enforcement agencies in their efforts to maintain public safety and uphold the rule of law."
It also states the commissioners board encourages "ongoing cooperation and partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to ensure the welfare and security of all citizens and legal residents within our jurisdiction.
"The Board of County Commissioners of Washington County hereby declares its intent to support DHS and ICE in the enforcement of our nation's borders, safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system, and ensuring that all persons are treated with dignity and compassion within our jurisdiction."
Following the vote, boos erupted from the meeting room gallery and Commissioners President John Barr called for the room to be cleared. County Administrator Michelle Gordon ordered the livestream of the meeting to go "off air," according to a YouTube video of the meeting.
Before reading the resolution, Barr asked for respect in the room and said if there was additional noise, outcries or comments he would suspend the meeting. After a whistle sound, Barr said if he heard one more whistle blow he would call a recess.
The commissioners did not raise their hands when voting, but multiple "aye"'s could be heard.
County spokeswoman Danielle Weaver, in an email, confirmed it was a 4-0 vote.
President John Barr, Vice President Jeff Cline, and Commissioners Randy Wagner and Randy Leatherman were present for the vote. Commissioner Derek Harvey was absent from the meeting.
Washington County Indivisible ICE protests and questions for county commissioners
Washington County Indivisible has been trying to get answers from the five commissioners to a list of questions about the proposed ICE detention facility and to see if the commissioners would at least come out and say "we oppose it" or write letters of opposition to Homeland Security, Dave Williams, a member of the local Indivisible group's core leadership group said in a Feb. 3 phone interview.
Asked why Washington County Indivisible was protesting outside the county building, Williams said the commissioners had been unresponsive to emails, no longer provided opportunity for public comment during meetings, and "because there are things the commissioners can do."
Weaver, in a Feb. 3 email, said the decision to no longer offer in-person general public comment during commissioners meetings was made "to ensure meetings remain efficient and focused on agenda items. Residents may still submit written comments or contact commissioners directly."
The last time public comment was listed as its own agenda item during a commissioners meeting was June 3, 2025, Weaver said.
In addition to the commissioners making a public statement, Williams said the Wright Road facility involves county utilities and he expressed concern that the change in use for the warehouse to purportedly house people could affect utility use for the neighborhood.
The list of Indivisible questions for the commissioners, per a list shared by Williams, includes whether the county would hold a public informational meeting to address questions about the warehouse conversion for ICE; what impact there will be on emergency services and local law enforcement; and whether the county can limit or stop additional water/sewer allocation to the facility.
According to Washington County's online zoning map tool, the warehouse property is zoned Industrial General. The tool links to a zoning ordinance document that states penal and correctional institutions, including jails, are a principal permitted use in Industrial General Districts.
Weaver, in an email, said the City of Hagerstown provides water service to the Wright Road facility.
Hagerstown City Administrator Scott Nicewarner, in a Feb. 4 email, said the owner of the Wright Road parcel would have to petition the water department for an allocation increase. If a significant increase is requested, the matter would come before the City Council, he wrote.
As of Feb. 10, the city had not received a request for a water allocation increase for the Wright Road property, according to Nicewarner.
While Nicewarner wrote that city officials would have no idea at this point what effect such a request would have on the city's water system, he said on Feb. 4 that there were no water pressure or water quality issues in that service area at the time.
What the McClain Delaney, Van Hollen and Alsobrooks letter says
The letter that McClain Delaney, Van Hollen and Alsobrooks sent to the Washington County Commissioners on Feb. 10, according to a release from their congressional offices, says:
"We write to express our serious concern regarding today's vote to declare unwavering support for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Further, we want to voice our strong opposition to ICE’s plans to convert a large warehouse near Hagerstown into an immigration detention facility.
"We recognize that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. However, land use, zoning, and the protection of public health, safety, and general welfare are squarely within the authority and responsibility of Washington County. As the County’s governing body, the Board of County Commissioners is charged with applying existing zoning regulations to promote orderly development, prevent incompatible land uses, manage density, protect surrounding property values, and guide growth in accordance with the County’s comprehensive plan. Those responsibilities are not preempted by the Supremacy Clause, nor waived by federal interest in a particular site, particularly when the proposed use represents a dramatic departure from the facility’s original design and intended purpose."
The letter goes on to say that converting a warehouse into a detention facility to house up to 1,500 people could "pose substantial public health and safety risks and place added strain on local hospitals, emergency responders, and already stressed infrastructure, including roads, utilities and water systems. Expanding detention capacity risks entrenching a system that undermines due process, destabilizes communities, and normalizes conditions that Maryland has repeatedly found unacceptable."
McClain Delaney and Van Hollen both attended a Jan. 20 protest in downtown Hagerstown against the proposed ICE facility on Wright Road.
Hagerstown and Williamsport both scheduled to discuss ICE issues
The Hagerstown mayor and City Council's Feb. 10 work session agenda included time to consider questions Councilwoman Caroline Anderson raised at the city's Feb. 3 meeting about the proposed ICE facility.
Mayor Bill McIntire announced during the work session that because a council member was absent, that discussion would be delayed a week so all council members could be present for it.
Anderson was absent, according to the livestream of the meeting on YouTube.
The questions to be considered, according to a city agenda document, include whether the commissioners support the establishment of an ICE detention facility in the county and whether existing water, sewer and treatment infrastructure can accommodate a facility with about 1,500 beds without adversely affecting current residents or future development.
Six people addressed the Williamsport mayor and Town Council on Monday night, Feb. 9, about the proposed ICE facility outside town limits and expressed their opposition and concerns.
Former Williamsport Councilwoman Margaret Yaukey told town officials at the time she was "still hopeful" the county commissioners would vote down the resolution to support ICE.
Williamsport Mayor Bill Green said the town's March 2 work session agenda includes an item to discuss any additional information about the proposed ICE facility on Wright Road and whether town officials want to take a united stance on the issue.
After the meeting, Green said he wished people would quit calling the proposed ICE detention facility the "Williamsport" ICE detention facility and instead call it what it is, the "Washington County detainment" facility because it's not in town limits.
In a phone interview Feb. 10, Green said the proposed ICE facility is going to hurt the town's efforts for years to come because town officials are already getting questions about whether businesses want to continue in town or want to come to the area.
The town, with its history and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park, has been working on drawing more tourists.
Pat Cushwa, who served on Town Council in the 1970s, also addressed town officials Monday night.
Anything town officials can do to put a "brake" on the proposed ICE facility would be appreciated, Cushwa said. She was among speakers to mention the town building up tourism efforts and expressing concern about how the ICE facility would affect that.
Yaukey said the proposed detention facility "is a real challenge to the economic viability of this town."
The town has been on the "razor's edge of success" with its business efforts, experiencing setbacks with the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, she said.
Yaukey said she believes "to support in any shape or form" the ICE facility is "to be on the wrong side of history." And, she said she thinks, "the wrong side of your God."
"It impacts everybody who lives here in town," she said.
Eric Schwartz, co-founder of Washington County Indivisible, told town officials he had no illusions about the council taking an official position. But he urged them as individuals to look into their conscience and think about whether the proposed facility is consistent with their values and the nation's values.
While there hasn't been an armed police force killing unarmed civilians and seizing children to put them in detention here, can they say that will not happen here, Schwartz asked.
Jeff Byron, who grew up in Williamsport and recently returned to the area, said he was distressed to hear about the proposed ICE detention facility. He said the thing that surprises him is that it was "pushed through" and there has been "no transparency."
"I think this is the wrong place for it, close to Williamsport and its historic nature," Byron said.
More than one speaker expressed concern about reporters, cameras and protestors coming to the area due to the proposed facility.
"That's not a good impression to make on the rest of the country," Byron said.
Green and Assistant Mayor Dennis Grove thanked the speakers for coming out and voicing their opinions.
After the meeting, Grove said an ICE detention facility should not be that close to any municipality, whether that's Williamsport or another town.
"It's just not the place it should be," Grove said.
added 2/8/26
State, local and federal officials celebrate the signing of a Howard County law blocking a proposed private immigrant detention center in Elkridge. (Photo by Pat Siebert/Governor's Office)
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By:Joe Wicke - February 6, 2026 10:37 pm
Gov. Wes Moore became the latest to criticize a potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Hagerstown on Friday, expressing “grave concerns” about the project in an open letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“I have grave concerns about any holding facility that denies basic human needs and dignity,” Moore said in the two-page letter. “Public safety is my top priority and we must protect the public by upholding all Constitutional rights.”
The letter came the same day that Moore gathered with other state, federal and local officials in Howard County, where County Executive Calvin Ball signed emergency legislation to block the conversion of a building in an Elkridge office park into a privately run detention center for immigrants.
That legislation was rushed through in less than a week, after county officials learned of the project, revoked its permit and introduced a bill clarifying that only the government could operate a detention facility. County officials said the planned conversion of an office building into a 29,000-square-foot immigration detention center failed to give notice and hold proper public hearings, and was impermissibly close to schools, parks and shopping centers.
“This legislation was not about speed alone,” said Ball in a statement where he noted that it took less than a week from introduction through emergency hearings to signing. “It was about principle. It was about drawing a firm line between public safety and discrimination rooted in fear. It was about affirming that what we allow to be built in our neighborhoods impacts the public health, safety, and welfare of our community.”
While the Elkridge center appears to have been blocked, the future of the Hagerstown facility is less clear.
Washington County officials said in a Jan. 28 statement that they were disappointed by ICE’s announcement that it was considering the purchase of a warehouse in Williamsport for development of a “new ICE Baltimore processing facility.” Plans call for the “construction of holding and processing spaces, office space, public-facing visitor space and installation of amenities, such as cafeterias, bathrooms, and health care spaces,” among other changes.
County officials only learned of the project when the county’s Historic District Commission received a letter from ICE indicating that the project would have no impact on local historic properties. That appears to be the federal government’s only obligation under the law, said county officials, who said they may be powerless to stop the project.
“It is Washington County’s position that decisions about land use are best made locally. However, the legal reality when property is owned by the Federal Government is clear,” the county statement said. “Washington County is not able to legally restrict the federal government’s ability to proceed. DHS has not notified Washington County that a purchase has taken place.”
Viral videos surfaced in January of the current ICE facility in Baltimore that showed detainees crowded into a single room. Advocates condemned the facility, calling the conditions “inhumane.”
Moore cited a “troubling” lack of transparency from the department over the Williamsport facility in his letter to Noem. He wrote that he views actions like this acquisition as continuous attempts to “sacrifice federal-local collaboration.”
U.S. Rep April McClain Delaney (D-6th), who has been an outspoken critic of the conditions at the current ICE facility in Baltimore, echoed Moore’s human rights concerns in a statement Friday.
“People are not packages. Team Maryland cannot allow Noem’s ICE to establish a detention center in Williamsport to hold people without due process, transparency, or accountability – in violation of the constitutional and human rights of Maryland’s residents,” McClain Delaney wrote.
“The Supremacy Clause does not give the federal government authority to override the fundamental rights of my constituents and our neighbors,“ her statement said.
She said in a statement from her office last week that “ICE’s covert acquisition of a warehouse in historic Williamsport – carried out without transparency, community input, or accountability – is unacceptable,” and she planned to work with state and federal officials to demand answers.
Moore also wrote that the Williamsport facility may lead to significant economic troubles. The warehouse, which originally opened during the COVID-19 pandemic, is one of many that contribute to over “about 4,000 jobs, hundreds of millions in wages, and more than $450 million in combined capital investment.”
He said that economic loss from the ICE facility could undermine the county’s water and sewage systems. As the county is already reaching capacity with these systems, Moore wrote, a lack of financial support from a commercial distribution site will only exacerbate the problem.
Gov. Wes Moore became the latest to criticize a potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Hagerstown on Friday, expressing “grave concerns” about the project in an open letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“I have grave concerns about any holding facility that denies basic human needs and dignity,” Moore said in the two-page letter. “Public safety is my top priority and we must protect the public by upholding all Constitutional rights.”
The letter came the same day that Moore gathered with other state, federal and local officials in Howard County, where County Executive Calvin Ball signed emergency legislation to block the conversion of a building in an Elkridge office park into a privately run detention center for immigrants.
That legislation was rushed through in less than a week, after county officials learned of the project, revoked its permit and introduced a bill clarifying that only the government could operate a detention facility. County officials said the planned conversion of an office building into a 29,000-square-foot immigration detention center failed to give notice and hold proper public hearings, and was impermissibly close to schools, parks and shopping centers.
“This legislation was not about speed alone,” said Ball in a statement where he noted that it took less than a week from introduction through emergency hearings to signing. “It was about principle. It was about drawing a firm line between public safety and discrimination rooted in fear. It was about affirming that what we allow to be built in our neighborhoods impacts the public health, safety, and welfare of our community.”
While the Elkridge center appears to have been blocked, the future of the Hagerstown facility is less clear.
Washington County officials said in a Jan. 28 statement that they were disappointed by ICE’s announcement that it was considering the purchase of a warehouse in Williamsport for development of a “new ICE Baltimore processing facility.” Plans call for the “construction of holding and processing spaces, office space, public-facing visitor space and installation of amenities, such as cafeterias, bathrooms, and health care spaces,” among other changes.
County officials only learned of the project when the county’s Historic District Commission received a letter from ICE indicating that the project would have no impact on local historic properties. That appears to be the federal government’s only obligation under the law, said county officials, who said they may be powerless to stop the project.
“It is Washington County’s position that decisions about land use are best made locally. However, the legal reality when property is owned by the Federal Government is clear,” the county statement said. “Washington County is not able to legally restrict the federal government’s ability to proceed. DHS has not notified Washington County that a purchase has taken place.”
Viral videos surfaced in January of the current ICE facility in Baltimore that showed detainees crowded into a single room. Advocates condemned the facility, calling the conditions “inhumane.”
Moore cited a “troubling” lack of transparency from the department over the Williamsport facility in his letter to Noem. He wrote that he views actions like this acquisition as continuous attempts to “sacrifice federal-local collaboration.”
U.S. Rep April McClain Delaney (D-6th), who has been an outspoken critic of the conditions at the current ICE facility in Baltimore, echoed Moore’s human rights concerns in a statement Friday.
“People are not packages. Team Maryland cannot allow Noem’s ICE to establish a detention center in Williamsport to hold people without due process, transparency, or accountability – in violation of the constitutional and human rights of Maryland’s residents,” McClain Delaney wrote.
“The Supremacy Clause does not give the federal government authority to override the fundamental rights of my constituents and our neighbors,“ her statement said.
She said in a statement from her office last week that “ICE’s covert acquisition of a warehouse in historic Williamsport – carried out without transparency, community input, or accountability – is unacceptable,” and she planned to work with state and federal officials to demand answers.
Moore also wrote that the Williamsport facility may lead to significant economic troubles. The warehouse, which originally opened during the COVID-19 pandemic, is one of many that contribute to over “about 4,000 jobs, hundreds of millions in wages, and more than $450 million in combined capital investment.”
He said that economic loss from the ICE facility could undermine the county’s water and sewage systems. As the county is already reaching capacity with these systems, Moore wrote, a lack of financial support from a commercial distribution site will only exacerbate the problem.
added 1/27/26
Baltimore Banner, 1/27/26
Baltimore Banner, 1/27/26
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Feds purchase warehouse near Hagerstown, fueling talk of immigration detention center |
Ben Conarck, Daniel Zawodny and Giacomo Bologna
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has inked a deal to purchase a warehouse just outside of Hagerstown for $102.4 million.
So far, federal officials have declined to talk about their specific plans in the area. Reports published earlier this month said that the department was considering converting a warehouse into an immigration detention facility near the city.
But last week, Maryland’s U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and other Democratic lawmakers visited the city, expressing concern that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was scoping out properties in the area.
Washington County property records show that the 825,620-square-foot warehouse was sold to the federal government on Jan. 22 by FRIND-Hopewell LLC. That entity had purchased the 53.5-acre property in 2022 for $104.9 million.
The limited liability company is linked in public records to the Washington, D.C.–based real estate investment group Fundrise.
FRIND-Hopewell used an address for the company when purchasing the property, and the deed was signed by the company’s chief operating officer, Brandon Jenkins. Fundrise did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. The transaction was first reported by the Baltimore news blog, Project Salt Box.
The property — roughly 80 miles from ICE’s Baltimore field office — has been on the radar of activists in the Hagerstown area since a list of potential warehouse sites being scoped out by federal officials was leaked and published on multiple news sites. It sits about 7 miles outside of Hagerstown on the outskirts of Williamsport.
Former federal immigration officials have told The Banner that establishing detention space in Maryland would be a necessary precursor to a surge in enforcement in the state.
Earlier this week, a viral video showed crowded holding cells in ICE’s downtown Baltimore processing facility, a visceral illustration of how of the state’s restrictions on bed space have led to overcrowding there.
Last week, Maryland’s Democratic congressional delegation expressed grave reservations about the potential ICE facility.
In a letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, those members of Congress demanded more details about the reported plans by DHS.
“Any efforts to subject Hagerstown and Washington County to such a facility without the consent of state and local officials or our constituents is a serious violation of the principles of federalism and self-governance,” the letter read.
In an emailed statement Tuesday evening, Van Hollen said the purchase was done in “blatant disregard for the will of this community.”
Hagerstown is on a list of 16 areas around the U.S. for proposed ICE “processing sites” that could each house up to 1,500 people at a time, according to The Washington Post.
In 2021, state lawmakers prohibited state and local governments from contracting with ICE, effectively ending long-term immigration detention in the state, as the only facilities holding ICE detainees were local jails.
The law, known as the Dignity Not Detention Act, cannot, however, restrict the federal government from operating its own detention facility.
For years, the large capital cost necessary to purchase or construct such a facility was a barrier for the Department of Homeland Security. But a new tranche of federal funding for the agency is expected to lead to rapid expansion for immigration enforcement around the country.
The DND Act does, however, require the government to go through an engagement process with local communities, including public hearings, before opening a detention center in their backyard.
“It’s disappointing that ICE is choosing to expand detention in Maryland and spend more taxpayer money on warehouses and cages instead of health care or infrastructure,” said Del. Vaughn Stewart, a Montgomery County Democrat who authored the DND Act. ”Fortunately, the General Assembly will be considering legislation this session to strengthen our laws and give communities a real say.”
U.S. Rep April McClain Delaney, a Democrat representing the state’s 6th District, including the area around Hagerstown, bemoaned “ICE’s covert acquisition of a warehouse in historic Williamsport” which she described as “carried out without transparency, community input, or accountability.”
She added: “We do not want this facility in our backyard. Our communities will not be steamrolled, and our neighbors will not be targeted in silence. We will organize. We will show up. We will speak out. We will sue. And we will not stop fighting — together — until this proposal is stopped and our community is respected.”
Banner reporter Brenda Wintrode contributed to this report
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has inked a deal to purchase a warehouse just outside of Hagerstown for $102.4 million.
So far, federal officials have declined to talk about their specific plans in the area. Reports published earlier this month said that the department was considering converting a warehouse into an immigration detention facility near the city.
But last week, Maryland’s U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and other Democratic lawmakers visited the city, expressing concern that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was scoping out properties in the area.
Washington County property records show that the 825,620-square-foot warehouse was sold to the federal government on Jan. 22 by FRIND-Hopewell LLC. That entity had purchased the 53.5-acre property in 2022 for $104.9 million.
The limited liability company is linked in public records to the Washington, D.C.–based real estate investment group Fundrise.
FRIND-Hopewell used an address for the company when purchasing the property, and the deed was signed by the company’s chief operating officer, Brandon Jenkins. Fundrise did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. The transaction was first reported by the Baltimore news blog, Project Salt Box.
The property — roughly 80 miles from ICE’s Baltimore field office — has been on the radar of activists in the Hagerstown area since a list of potential warehouse sites being scoped out by federal officials was leaked and published on multiple news sites. It sits about 7 miles outside of Hagerstown on the outskirts of Williamsport.
Former federal immigration officials have told The Banner that establishing detention space in Maryland would be a necessary precursor to a surge in enforcement in the state.
Earlier this week, a viral video showed crowded holding cells in ICE’s downtown Baltimore processing facility, a visceral illustration of how of the state’s restrictions on bed space have led to overcrowding there.
Last week, Maryland’s Democratic congressional delegation expressed grave reservations about the potential ICE facility.
In a letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, those members of Congress demanded more details about the reported plans by DHS.
“Any efforts to subject Hagerstown and Washington County to such a facility without the consent of state and local officials or our constituents is a serious violation of the principles of federalism and self-governance,” the letter read.
In an emailed statement Tuesday evening, Van Hollen said the purchase was done in “blatant disregard for the will of this community.”
Hagerstown is on a list of 16 areas around the U.S. for proposed ICE “processing sites” that could each house up to 1,500 people at a time, according to The Washington Post.
In 2021, state lawmakers prohibited state and local governments from contracting with ICE, effectively ending long-term immigration detention in the state, as the only facilities holding ICE detainees were local jails.
The law, known as the Dignity Not Detention Act, cannot, however, restrict the federal government from operating its own detention facility.
For years, the large capital cost necessary to purchase or construct such a facility was a barrier for the Department of Homeland Security. But a new tranche of federal funding for the agency is expected to lead to rapid expansion for immigration enforcement around the country.
The DND Act does, however, require the government to go through an engagement process with local communities, including public hearings, before opening a detention center in their backyard.
“It’s disappointing that ICE is choosing to expand detention in Maryland and spend more taxpayer money on warehouses and cages instead of health care or infrastructure,” said Del. Vaughn Stewart, a Montgomery County Democrat who authored the DND Act. ”Fortunately, the General Assembly will be considering legislation this session to strengthen our laws and give communities a real say.”
U.S. Rep April McClain Delaney, a Democrat representing the state’s 6th District, including the area around Hagerstown, bemoaned “ICE’s covert acquisition of a warehouse in historic Williamsport” which she described as “carried out without transparency, community input, or accountability.”
She added: “We do not want this facility in our backyard. Our communities will not be steamrolled, and our neighbors will not be targeted in silence. We will organize. We will show up. We will speak out. We will sue. And we will not stop fighting — together — until this proposal is stopped and our community is respected.”
Banner reporter Brenda Wintrode contributed to this report
Hagerstown rally against proposed ICE facility in local area
Julie E. GreeneThe Herald-Mail
Updated Jan. 21, 2026, 9:51 a.m. ET
Updated Jan. 21, 2026, 9:51 a.m. ET
- Politicians and residents rallied in Hagerstown, Maryland, to protest a proposed ICE detention facility in Washington County.
- The proposal is part of a reported Trump Administration plan to hold immigrant detainees in renovated industrial warehouses.
- Maryland's congressional delegation has formally requested more details from the Department of Homeland Security about the plans.
U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney and Sen. Chris Van Hollen joined a large rally at Hagerstown's Public Square on Tuesday, Jan. 20, to protest a proposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Washington County.
The Washington Post reported on Dec. 24 that the Trump Administration is seeking contractors for a plan that includes renovating industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time, according to a draft solicitation The Post reviewed.
Among the sites The Post listed where the federal government is looking to establish a processing site, with 500 to 1,500 beds, is Hagerstown, Maryland, though it wasn't clear if the proposed facility was within city limits.
"We are here to say no to ICE in Minneapolis and no to ICE right here in Hagerstown. We do not want an ICE facility here in the state of Maryland, here in Washington County and Hagerstown. Are we going to make sure we send that message very loud and very clear?," Van Hollen, D-Md., asked the crowd at Public Square.
The crowd responded in the affirmative.
Asked to clarify where she was hearing such a facility could be, whether it is actually in Hagerstown, U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-6th, said after the rally that it's in the county and that a location has been mentioned on Facebook.
McClain Delaney said her office had reached out to Washington County government and was awaiting a response.
"Washington County does not comment on actions being taken by the U.S. Government, Department of Homeland Security and is aware of the Federal Government’s potential interest in a warehouse in Washington County," county spokesperson Danielle Weaver said in an Jan. 20 email in response to a Herald-Mail inquiry.
McClain Delaney referred to a letter Maryland Congressional members sent Jan. 20 to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Todd Lyons, acting director for ICE.
The letter refers to The Washington Post's story and plans to hold detained immigrants at processing facilities, including in Hagerstown.
"It is our understanding that such a facility would be used to house noncitizens for as long as 'a few weeks' prior to their transfer to large-scale warehouses to facilitate deportations," the letter says, referring to Post reporting. "Recently, we learned that last week a DHS official visited a potential processing facility site which is not designed or outfitted to house, feed or provide adequate care for detainees. It is deeply concerning that the proposed location is situated in an area of Washington County that is not zoned for overnight habitation, creating a direct conflict between DHS and local laws. Our congressional delegation demands more details on these proposed plans and the impact they would have on the local community.
"As DHS is aware, the Maryland Dignity Not Detention Act prohibits state and local law enforcement from entering into agreements to detain individuals for civil immigration matters. In enacting this law, the state of Maryland definitively rejected any involvement in civil immigration detention," the letter reads.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to a Jan. 20 email from The Herald-Mail about the possibility of an ICE detention facility in Washington County. Nor did they respond to inquiries sent Dec. 30 and 31.
The City of Hagerstown, on Dec. 30, issued a statement about The Post report, that also was posted on the city's Facebook page.
City of Hagerstown spokesperson Wes Decker, in a Jan. 20 email to The Herald-Mail, said city staff hadn't been contacted or received information from the federal government regarding a plan for an ICE facility in the city. Decker said that is likely because a proposed site is outside the city limits and referred The Herald-Mail to county government.
During a Jan. 13, work session, City Administrator Scott Nicewarner said city officials had had no contact or discussions from the federal government about using a warehouse in Hagerstown for an ICE facility.
According to a YouTube video of the meeting, Nicewarner said "not that it would matter to the federal government, but zoning would be an issue, utilities would be an issue. These warehouses are built to store product, not people."
He also said "we just don't have space" because warehouses in the city "are pretty full."
Councilwoman Caroline Anderson asked if the city has any jurisdiction or say as to whether ICE officers can make arrests in the city.
"We don't. ... No pun intended, federal trumps local," Nicewarner said.
During the Jan. 20 council meeting, Anderson mentioned the rally and read a statement. Anderson and Councilwoman Erika Bell were at the rally.
"As a city resident and a public servant, I want to be clear: the proposed ICE detention center may sit outside of city limits, but its an impact that will be felt by all of our families, our economy, our public safety and our values," Anderson said. "The reality is there has been no meaningful communication amongst the city. There has been no transparency. There's been no engagement."
Large crowd shows up at anti-ICE rally in downtown Hagerstown
Nancy Evans, 80, who lives in the Williamsport area, said she heard Williamsport was where ICE wanted to have the facility.
"We don't want it there," said Evans, holding a sign that read ICE with the letters circled in red and a slash running through them like in a prohibited sign.
Asked what her concern was, Evans said, "They're arresting people they shouldn't be" and that ICE is arresting American citizens and "using way too much force."
Washington County Indivisible, a nonpartisan grassroots movement, organized the Jan. 20 rally at Public Square that started around 4 p.m. Dave Williams, one of the group's core committee members, said the crowd was estimated to be at least 250 people.
At times, protestors stood on all four corners of Public Square, with many people holding signs. Sometimes motorists honked at the crowd. Toward the end of the rally, there were chants of "Ice out now."
At one point when Van Hollen was speaking, a person holding a sign that read "ICE is nice" walked up behind him. Some rally supporters attempted to stand in front of the individual and block the sign.
Among the messages on the rally signs were "No ICE in our town," "No ICE," "No ICE facility," "Melt ICE," "No ICE, no hate," "De-ICE," and "Love thy neighbor."
Alissa Walker, 46, of Hagerstown, held a sign that read "Salt the roads. Keep ICE off our streets."
Walker said she had a list of reasons for coming out to the rally on a frigid day.
"I'm out because I think ICE is terrorizing streets in our cities," she said.
Everyone "has the right to be treated with dignity and respect," Walker said.
"To quote the internet, 'No one is illegal on stolen lands,'" Walker said.
Meredith Stafford, 40, of Frederick, held a sign she made with deer fencing, PVC pipe and a paint roller extension pole. The message "ICE out now" was spelled out with letters she cut from an orange tarp and put on the deer fencing attached to the pole and pipe.
Stafford said she was upset about plans to put an ICE facility in Hagerstown. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America chapter in Frederick, Stafford said she showed up in solidarity for members of the Hagerstown chapter.
Washington County Indivisible member Donald Donoghue said, "We don't want ICE detention jails in Washington County." Donoghue, 63, of Smithsburg, said he doesn't want to see such a facility in "Maryland or anywhere in my country."
Donoghue expressed concern about ICE detaining U.S. citizens, even for a few days; leaving communities traumatized and what he called reports from credible sources about conditions at ICE detainment facilities.
"It's no way to live. It's fear and intimidation," he said of ICE's actions.
Eric Schwartz, co-founder of Washington County Indivisible, said the turnout was good for the rally despite the weather, and that the event came together in about two days.
The temperature was in the mid-20s at the time of the rally, but it felt colder due to wind chill.
"People do not want ICE in their community," said Schwartz, 65, of Williamsport. "People are afraid."
ICE's actions have "nothing to do with public safety," Schwartz said. "This has to do with making people, everyone, afraid, and what we are doing here, we are showing that we are not afraid."
"We love our community. we care about our neighbors," he said.
Schwartz said Washington County Indivisible will host an informative panel at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, at Washington County Free Library in downtown Hagerstown about people's rights and the issue of a detention center, Schwartz said. There will be representatives from immigration and civil rights groups.
More from McClain Delaney and Van Hollen
McClain Delaney told the crowd she's called for articles of impeachment against Noem.
She said an appropriations bill is headed to the House of Representatives this week and she won't vote for it if "there's not a stopping of ICE actions."
Van Hollen said he "will not vote for one more dime for this lawless Trump ICE operation."
Van Hollen asked if the crowd remembered the "big lie" about ICE "going after the worst of the worst."
He said they were going after moms, a pastor on the Eastern Shore, and a Hagerstown mother and business owner.
The latter is Mong "Melissa" Tuyen Thi Tran, who was held for months at ICE facilities including in Washington state. After being released in October, she was deported in mid-November to Vietnam. Tran's family owns the Nail Palace and Spa in the Long Meadow Shopping Center.
Van Hollen said recently ICE detained a mom who had lived "here" for 20 years. The woman had one request, to see her 15-year-old dying son one more time, but she was denied by ICE, he said. The boy died the next day.
On X, Van Hollen posted Jan. 18 about Arlit Maria Martinez's son dying of cancer while she was in ICE custody.
Martinez was on her way to work in Salisbury on Jan. 3 when she was stopped and detained by ICE on Mount Hermon Road, according to WBOC-TV.
ICE has issued many news releases about arresting people who are in the U.S. illegally, often noting convictions and sometimes how much time they served in prison as a result.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., did not make it to the rally in Hagerstown because she had a vote Tuesday night as chairperson of the Maryland Redistricting Commission, according to an Alsobrooks' spokesperson. A regional director for Alsobrooks was at the rally.
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ICE seeks to open detention facility in Washington County, lawmakers say |
See the WBAL video HERE
Updated: 6:18 PM EST Jan 20, 2026
HAGERSTOWN, Md. --
The Trump administration is looking to open an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Washington County, according to Maryland's congressional delegation and county officials.
County officials responded Tuesday to questions from WBAL-TV 11 News asking about locations, timelines and whether ICE needs permits, saying: "Washington County does not comment on actions being taken by the U.S. government, Department of Homeland Security and is aware of the federal government's potential interest in a warehouse in Washington County."
New details in a letter obtained by WBAL-TV 11 News that was sent by Congressional Democrats to DHS officials indicate the lawmakers demanded details on the plans, writing: "We learned that, last week, a DHS official visited a potential processing facility site — which is not designed or outfitted to house, feed or provide adequate care for detainees — in an area of Washington County that is not zoned for overnight habitation."
More than 100 protesters, who gathered Tuesday afternoon at the Hagerstown Public Square, said they are opposed to an ICE detention facility opening in Washington County as they called for transparency and an end to ICE enforcement actions in Maryland, in Minnesota and across the country.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, and U.S. Rep. April McClain-Delaney, D-District 6, whose district encompasses Washington County, vowed to fight any ICE facility.
"We are here to say no to ICE in Minneapolis and no to ICE right here in Hagerstown," Van Hollen said, speaking to protesters.
"We have to stand up against this because there's not any transparency, there's no oversight and we do not know what is happening inside many of these places," McClain-Delaney said, speaking to protesters. "I think the hardest part for me is, when hearing these stories, sometimes community members just disappear. We don't know they're taken."
Hagerstown officials said in a statement sent to WBAL-TV 11 News that ICE isn't looking at any locations inside official city limits: "While the protest rally is planned to be held IN Hagerstown today, the proposed location for an ICE detention facility is NOT in the city. Because that location is outside the corporate limits of the city of Hagerstown, jurisdiction resides with Washington County. Consequently, your questions should be directed to officials at the county."
The White House deferred requests for comment from WBAL-TV 11 News to DHS, which had not responded by Tuesday evening's newscasts.
Updated: 6:18 PM EST Jan 20, 2026
HAGERSTOWN, Md. --
The Trump administration is looking to open an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Washington County, according to Maryland's congressional delegation and county officials.
County officials responded Tuesday to questions from WBAL-TV 11 News asking about locations, timelines and whether ICE needs permits, saying: "Washington County does not comment on actions being taken by the U.S. government, Department of Homeland Security and is aware of the federal government's potential interest in a warehouse in Washington County."
New details in a letter obtained by WBAL-TV 11 News that was sent by Congressional Democrats to DHS officials indicate the lawmakers demanded details on the plans, writing: "We learned that, last week, a DHS official visited a potential processing facility site — which is not designed or outfitted to house, feed or provide adequate care for detainees — in an area of Washington County that is not zoned for overnight habitation."
More than 100 protesters, who gathered Tuesday afternoon at the Hagerstown Public Square, said they are opposed to an ICE detention facility opening in Washington County as they called for transparency and an end to ICE enforcement actions in Maryland, in Minnesota and across the country.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, and U.S. Rep. April McClain-Delaney, D-District 6, whose district encompasses Washington County, vowed to fight any ICE facility.
"We are here to say no to ICE in Minneapolis and no to ICE right here in Hagerstown," Van Hollen said, speaking to protesters.
"We have to stand up against this because there's not any transparency, there's no oversight and we do not know what is happening inside many of these places," McClain-Delaney said, speaking to protesters. "I think the hardest part for me is, when hearing these stories, sometimes community members just disappear. We don't know they're taken."
Hagerstown officials said in a statement sent to WBAL-TV 11 News that ICE isn't looking at any locations inside official city limits: "While the protest rally is planned to be held IN Hagerstown today, the proposed location for an ICE detention facility is NOT in the city. Because that location is outside the corporate limits of the city of Hagerstown, jurisdiction resides with Washington County. Consequently, your questions should be directed to officials at the county."
The White House deferred requests for comment from WBAL-TV 11 News to DHS, which had not responded by Tuesday evening's newscasts.
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Hagerstown protesters rally against reported ICE plan to build detention center |
Read it on DC News Now
by: Steven Cohen
Posted: Jan 20, 2026 / 06:52 PM EST
Updated: Jan 20, 2026 / 10:49 PM EST
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (DC News Now) — A rally on Hagerstown’s Public Square on Tuesday evening protested against a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) proposal to build a detention center there.
Hagerstown City Administrator Scott Nicewarner told Mayor Bill McIntire and the city council last week that ICE has not communicated any such plan with City Hall.
Nicewarner said that if the proposal were presented, Hagerstown does not have the infrastructure to accommodate it.
Maryland U.S. Representative April McClain Delaney (D – 6th district) – who just returned from Minneapolis protesting ICE actions there – and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) addressed the crowd gathered on Tuesday.
“They’re going after moms who are bringing their kids home from school,” Van Hollen told the protestors. “They’re going after a pastor on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. They’re going after a small businesswoman, a Vietnamese-American from right here in Washington County.”
Van Hollen and McClain Delaney say they will step up the pressure on Capitol Hill to rein in Homeland Security tactics that exceed the department’s authority.
by: Steven Cohen
Posted: Jan 20, 2026 / 06:52 PM EST
Updated: Jan 20, 2026 / 10:49 PM EST
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (DC News Now) — A rally on Hagerstown’s Public Square on Tuesday evening protested against a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) proposal to build a detention center there.
Hagerstown City Administrator Scott Nicewarner told Mayor Bill McIntire and the city council last week that ICE has not communicated any such plan with City Hall.
Nicewarner said that if the proposal were presented, Hagerstown does not have the infrastructure to accommodate it.
Maryland U.S. Representative April McClain Delaney (D – 6th district) – who just returned from Minneapolis protesting ICE actions there – and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) addressed the crowd gathered on Tuesday.
“They’re going after moms who are bringing their kids home from school,” Van Hollen told the protestors. “They’re going after a pastor on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. They’re going after a small businesswoman, a Vietnamese-American from right here in Washington County.”
Van Hollen and McClain Delaney say they will step up the pressure on Capitol Hill to rein in Homeland Security tactics that exceed the department’s authority.
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Protesters push back on potential ICE detention warehouse in Hagerstown |
"We’re asking ICE for answers," Sen. Chris Van Hollen told News4.
By Joseph Olmo • Published January 21, 2026 • Updated on January 21, 2026 at 10:48 am
Go to News 4 Washington
By Joseph Olmo • Published January 21, 2026 • Updated on January 21, 2026 at 10:48 am
Go to News 4 Washington
People in Hagerstown protested against the possibility of ICE building a warehouse to hold immigrants in before they are deported. News4’s Joseph Olmo reports.
Hagerstown residents and Maryland leaders rallied in the city square on Tuesday to protest against ICE plans to open warehouses in which to hold immigrants.
NBC News reported in November that ICE was considering buying large warehouses to hold immigrants before they are deported.
In December, The Washington Post reported Hagerstown, in Washington County, was on the list of possible smaller sites across the U.S. Stafford County, Virginia, was listed as another possible site, for a larger facility.
“Wake up. Pay attention to what’s happening before it’s too late,” one man at the protest said.
ICE officials told NBC News in November that the warehouses would "increase efficiency” in deportations and described them as “mega detention centers.”
Among protesters holding up signs and drivers honking in support, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. April McClain Delaney joined.
When asked if officials knew any details about the plans for the warehouse, Van Hollen said they don't know anything yet.
"We’re asking ICE for answers," Van Hollen said. "In fact, just today, Senator Alsobrooks and Congresswoman Delaney and I sent the Secretary of Homeland Security a letter asking her about what their plans are [and] what are they planning here?"
When one man at the protest heard about the proposed warehouses for the first time, he said he "threw up" and the news made him feel nauseous.
One woman at the protest said she can't "even stand the thought of having it in our county."
"It is cruel. It is almost like concentration camps," she said. "It’s like jail. I mean, they’re going to be in a warehouse. Can you imagine it? I can’t.”
News4 reached out to ICE for comment. In part, a spokesperson said, “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”
"ICE is targeting the worst of the worst including murderers, rapists, criminals, gang members and more," the spokesperson said. "We have no new detention centers to announce at this time."
NBC News reported in November that ICE was considering buying large warehouses to hold immigrants before they are deported.
In December, The Washington Post reported Hagerstown, in Washington County, was on the list of possible smaller sites across the U.S. Stafford County, Virginia, was listed as another possible site, for a larger facility.
“Wake up. Pay attention to what’s happening before it’s too late,” one man at the protest said.
ICE officials told NBC News in November that the warehouses would "increase efficiency” in deportations and described them as “mega detention centers.”
Among protesters holding up signs and drivers honking in support, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. April McClain Delaney joined.
When asked if officials knew any details about the plans for the warehouse, Van Hollen said they don't know anything yet.
"We’re asking ICE for answers," Van Hollen said. "In fact, just today, Senator Alsobrooks and Congresswoman Delaney and I sent the Secretary of Homeland Security a letter asking her about what their plans are [and] what are they planning here?"
When one man at the protest heard about the proposed warehouses for the first time, he said he "threw up" and the news made him feel nauseous.
One woman at the protest said she can't "even stand the thought of having it in our county."
"It is cruel. It is almost like concentration camps," she said. "It’s like jail. I mean, they’re going to be in a warehouse. Can you imagine it? I can’t.”
News4 reached out to ICE for comment. In part, a spokesperson said, “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”
"ICE is targeting the worst of the worst including murderers, rapists, criminals, gang members and more," the spokesperson said. "We have no new detention centers to announce at this time."
From the Herald-Mail, 1/1/2026:
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Immigration detention center in Hagerstown? City responds to report |
- Hagerstown and Washington County officials stated they are unaware of any federal plans for an immigration detention facility in the area.
- A Washington Post report indicated the Trump Administration was seeking contractors for a processing site in Hagerstown for 500 to 1,500 beds for immigration detainees.
- U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney expressed outrage at the report and pledged to oppose any such facility.
- McClain Delaney is demanding transparency from DHS and ICE and plans to use congressional oversight to investigate the proposal.
Hagerstown and Washington County governments said this week they are unaware of federal government plans for an immigration detention facility in the Hagerstown area.
The Washington Post reported on Dec. 24 that the Trump Administration is seeking contractors for a plan that includes renovating industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time, according to a draft solicitation The Post reviewed.
The plan includes processing sites where newly arrested detainees would be booked into for a few weeks before being sent to one of seven large-scale warehouses that could each hold 5,000 to 10,000 people — a staging area for deportation, according to Post reporting.
Among the sites The Post listed where the federal government is looking to establish a processing site, with 500 to 1,500 beds, is Hagerstown, Maryland.
It was not clear if that means within the city limits or the greater Hagerstown area.
The Post reported that a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said she "cannot confirm" The Post's reporting and declined to answer questions about the warehouse plan.
The Herald-Mail emailed ICE, on Dec. 30, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, on Dec. 31, inquiring about The Post's report, but had not heard back by press time.
The State of Maryland already has three state prisons off Roxbury Road south of Hagerstown. The Washington County Sheriff's Office has a detention center off Western Maryland Parkway near Hagerstown's West End.
Hagerstown government responds to Post report about planned immigration facility
The City of Hagerstown, on Dec. 30, issued a statement about The Post report, that also was posted on the city's Facebook page.
"The City of Hagerstown is aware of the article published in the Washington Post over the last week naming Hagerstown as a possible site to utilize warehouse space to house those detained on immigration violations. The City of Hagerstown has no awareness of any such plans, and no city staff or city officials has been contacted by the government as to any future plans of utilizing space within Hagerstown for such a purpose."
Washington County government response regarding potential immigration detention facility
The Herald-Mail reached out to Washington County government, asking if county officials were aware of a plan for an ICE facility in the Hagerstown area.
County spokesperson Danielle Weaver, on Dec. 30, responded via email:
"The County does not comment on US Government/Department of Homeland Security initiatives and is unaware of any actions currently to convert local warehouses for the purposes of immigration detention."
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen comments on report of proposed ICE facility in Washington County
The following comment from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., was provided via email on Dec. 31 through Van Hollen's office, regarding the proposed ICE facility in the Hagerstown area.
"The Trump Administration's cruel mass deportation agenda has not focused on 'the worst of the worst,' but instead has swept up thousands of people that DHS admits pose no threat to our communities — including small business owners, community leaders, pastors, and more. Trump's ICE has already been locking up scores of people without respect for their due process rights — and contracting for massive private warehouse prisons marks another step in their assault on our communities. While we need secure borders and across-the-board reform, upholding our immigration laws can and must be done safely, smartly, and humanely — but clearly those are not the priorities of this Administration."
Congresswoman April McClain Delaney issues statement regarding report of proposed ICE facility in Hagerstown
U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-6th District, released a statement on Dec. 30 regarding reports of a proposed ICE detention facility in Hagerstown.
"I am outraged by reports that the Trump Administration may be considering the construction of an ICE detention facility in or near Hagerstown. If true, this proposal is unacceptable — and I will fight it with every tool available to me.
"The mass detention of human beings without due process is a profound moral and constitutional failure. Detaining people — like asylum seekers and families — far from legal counsel, their support systems, and meaningful oversight creates a grave risk of unlawful detention and irreversible harm.
"Hagerstown is not a dumping ground for a broken federal system — it is a proud community built on fairness, decency, and the rule of law. I will not quietly accept a facility that threatens civil liberties, undermines due process, and contradicts our values.
"Let me be clear about what I am doing, and what I will continue to do, to stop this:
- I am demanding full and immediate transparency from DHS and ICE, including all planning documents, contracts, internal analyses, and communications related to any proposed detention facility in Washington County. There will be no secrecy and no backroom decisions.
- I am scheduled to meet with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations field office in Baltimore in January, where I will conduct my constitutionally required oversight of this facility which has my constituents locked inside.
- I will work with colleagues to use aggressive congressional oversight — including formal investigations — to expose any effort to rush this project forward while cutting corners on legality, due process, or human rights.
- I will oppose any attempt to detain people without full constitutional protections, and I will challenge policies that normalize prolonged or unlawful detention under the guise of efficiency.
- I will stand with community members, faith leaders, advocates, and local governments who are speaking out against this proposal, and I will elevate their voices at every level of the federal government.
"This is about values and who we are, and that begins with protecting our neighbors. A government that detains people in bulk, behind walls and razor wire, without transparency or accountability, is a government that has lost its moral compass.
"I will not allow Hagerstown to become a symbol of that failure. I will fight this proposal publicly, relentlessly, and unapologetically — and I will keep the people of this community informed every step of the way."
Full text of Washington Post 12/24/25 article:
ICE documents reveal plan to hold 80,000 immigrants in warehouses
By Douglas MacMillan and Jonathan O'Connell
The Trump administration is seeking contractors to help it overhaul the United States’ immigrant detention system in a plan that includes renovating industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time, according to a draft solicitation reviewed by The Washington Post.
Rather than shuttling detainees around the country to wherever detention space is available, as happens now, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aims to speed up deportations by establishing a deliberate feeder system, the document says. Newly arrested detainees would be booked into processing sites for a few weeks before being funneled into one of seven large-scale warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 people each, where they would be staged for deportation.
The large warehouses would be located close to major logistics hubs in Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia and Missouri. Sixteen smaller warehouses would hold up to 1,500 people each.
The draft solicitation is not final and is subject to changes. ICE plans to share it with private detention companies this week to gauge interest and refine the plan, according to an internal email reviewed by The Post. A formal request for bids could follow soon after that.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said she “cannot confirm” The Post’s reporting and declined to answer questions about the warehouse plan.
NBC and Bloomberg News previously reported on ICE’s internal discussions about using warehouses as detention centers. The full scope of the project, the locations of the facilities and other details contained in the solicitation have not been previously disclosed or reported.
The warehouse plan would be the next step in President Donald Trump’s campaign to detain and deport millions of immigrants, which began with a scramble to expand the nation’s immigrant detention system, the largest in the world. Armed with $45 billion Congress set aside for locking up immigrants, his administration this year revived dormant prisons, repurposed sections of military bases and partnered with Republican governors to build immigrant tent encampments in remote regions.
The administration has deported more than 579,000 people this year, border czar Tom Homan said earlier this month on the social media platform X.
The new facilities will “maximize efficiency, minimize costs, shorten processing times, limit lengths of stay, accelerate the removal process and promote the safety, dignity and respect for all in ICE custody,” the solicitation said.
“We need to get better at treating this like a business,” ICE acting director Todd M. Lyons said at a border security conference in April, according to the Arizona Mirror. The administration’s goal, he said, was to deport immigrants as efficiently as Amazon moves packages: “Like Prime, but with human beings.”
Commercial real estate experts say concentrating detainees in warehouses would create its own logistical problems. Such structures are designed for storage and shipping, not human habitation. They tend to be poorly ventilated and lack precise temperature controls — and, because they are typically located far from residential areas, they may not have access to the plumbing and sanitation systems needed to support thousands of full-time residents.
“It’s dehumanizing,” said Tania Wolf, an advocate with the National Immigration Project who is based in New Orleans — about one hour south from the site of a planned warehouse in Hammond, La. “You’re treating people, for lack of a better term, like cattle.”
ICE plans to heavily modify the structures to include intake areas, housing units with showers and restrooms, a kitchen, dining areas, a medical unit, indoor and outdoor recreation areas, a law library, and administrative offices, according to the solicitation. Some of the facilities will include special housing designed for families in custody.
The majority of the planned warehouses are in towns, counties and states led by Republicans supportive of Trump’s immigration policies. Two of the largest warehouses are planned for towns with Democrat-led local governments: Stafford, Va., and Kansas City, Mo.
If the government leased a warehouse in Stafford, it would need to comply with the city’s zoning laws and building codes, said Pamela Yeung, one of seven supervisors on Stafford’s Democrat-led board.
“Immigration policy is federal, but its impacts are local,” Yeung said in an emailed statement. “Any facility of this scale would affect infrastructure, public safety, and social services.”
ICE held more than 68,000 people at the beginning of this month, agency data shows, the highest number on record. Nearly half, or 48 percent of these people, have no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, ICE data shows.
Some administration officials have complained about the complexity of the current detention system. A 2015 government watchdog report found that deportation flights often leave the country with empty seats because of the logistical difficulty of bringing enough people eligible for deportation to an airplane at the same time.
The government already awarded one $30 million contract for help with “due diligence services and concept design” for the new facilities, procurement records show. That award fueled a public backlash among members of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, a Kansas tribe that said a business connected to the tribe had acted against their wishes in pursuing the contract.
Tribal Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick said in a Dec. 17 video that the tribe has exited the contract and plans “to ensure that our nation’s economic interests do not come into conflict with our values in the future.”
The business that won the award, KPB Services LLC, could not be reached at phone numbers listed online for the company.
The biggest newly proposed warehouse would hold up to 10,000 detainees in Stafford, an industrial area 40 miles south of Washington. A facility with capacity for up to 9,500 people is planned for Hutchins, near Dallas; and another with space for 9,000 in Hammond, east of Baton Rouge. Currently, ICE’s biggest facility is a makeshift tent encampment built this summer at the Fort Bliss U.S. Army base in Texas. It now holds around 3,000 people but was expected to have a capacity of 5,000 by year’s end.
The warehouse solicitation document names nine active detention centers as part of the project’s final phase, suggesting that at least those facilities would continue to be used. The plan does not mention whether other existing facilities would be phased out.
It does not give a timeline for beginning work on the project but says the facilities must begin accepting detainees 30 to 60 calendar days after the start of construction.
Staffing facilities of this size is likely to be a challenge, said Jason Houser, a former ICE chief of staff under President Joe Biden. Prospective workers will need medical or other specialized training and will have to pass federal security clearances, he said.
This problem is already bearing out in other new facilities. In September, the government’s own inspectors found that the Fort Bliss site employed less than two-thirds of the security personnel it had agreed to in its contract.
“We can always find more warehouses,” Houser said. The ability to operate the facilities safely, he said, is “always limited by staffing.”
Aaron Schaffer contributed to this report
The Trump administration is seeking contractors to help it overhaul the United States’ immigrant detention system in a plan that includes renovating industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time, according to a draft solicitation reviewed by The Washington Post.
Rather than shuttling detainees around the country to wherever detention space is available, as happens now, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aims to speed up deportations by establishing a deliberate feeder system, the document says. Newly arrested detainees would be booked into processing sites for a few weeks before being funneled into one of seven large-scale warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 people each, where they would be staged for deportation.
The large warehouses would be located close to major logistics hubs in Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia and Missouri. Sixteen smaller warehouses would hold up to 1,500 people each.
The draft solicitation is not final and is subject to changes. ICE plans to share it with private detention companies this week to gauge interest and refine the plan, according to an internal email reviewed by The Post. A formal request for bids could follow soon after that.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said she “cannot confirm” The Post’s reporting and declined to answer questions about the warehouse plan.
NBC and Bloomberg News previously reported on ICE’s internal discussions about using warehouses as detention centers. The full scope of the project, the locations of the facilities and other details contained in the solicitation have not been previously disclosed or reported.
The warehouse plan would be the next step in President Donald Trump’s campaign to detain and deport millions of immigrants, which began with a scramble to expand the nation’s immigrant detention system, the largest in the world. Armed with $45 billion Congress set aside for locking up immigrants, his administration this year revived dormant prisons, repurposed sections of military bases and partnered with Republican governors to build immigrant tent encampments in remote regions.
The administration has deported more than 579,000 people this year, border czar Tom Homan said earlier this month on the social media platform X.
The new facilities will “maximize efficiency, minimize costs, shorten processing times, limit lengths of stay, accelerate the removal process and promote the safety, dignity and respect for all in ICE custody,” the solicitation said.
“We need to get better at treating this like a business,” ICE acting director Todd M. Lyons said at a border security conference in April, according to the Arizona Mirror. The administration’s goal, he said, was to deport immigrants as efficiently as Amazon moves packages: “Like Prime, but with human beings.”
Commercial real estate experts say concentrating detainees in warehouses would create its own logistical problems. Such structures are designed for storage and shipping, not human habitation. They tend to be poorly ventilated and lack precise temperature controls — and, because they are typically located far from residential areas, they may not have access to the plumbing and sanitation systems needed to support thousands of full-time residents.
“It’s dehumanizing,” said Tania Wolf, an advocate with the National Immigration Project who is based in New Orleans — about one hour south from the site of a planned warehouse in Hammond, La. “You’re treating people, for lack of a better term, like cattle.”
ICE plans to heavily modify the structures to include intake areas, housing units with showers and restrooms, a kitchen, dining areas, a medical unit, indoor and outdoor recreation areas, a law library, and administrative offices, according to the solicitation. Some of the facilities will include special housing designed for families in custody.
The majority of the planned warehouses are in towns, counties and states led by Republicans supportive of Trump’s immigration policies. Two of the largest warehouses are planned for towns with Democrat-led local governments: Stafford, Va., and Kansas City, Mo.
If the government leased a warehouse in Stafford, it would need to comply with the city’s zoning laws and building codes, said Pamela Yeung, one of seven supervisors on Stafford’s Democrat-led board.
“Immigration policy is federal, but its impacts are local,” Yeung said in an emailed statement. “Any facility of this scale would affect infrastructure, public safety, and social services.”
ICE held more than 68,000 people at the beginning of this month, agency data shows, the highest number on record. Nearly half, or 48 percent of these people, have no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, ICE data shows.
Some administration officials have complained about the complexity of the current detention system. A 2015 government watchdog report found that deportation flights often leave the country with empty seats because of the logistical difficulty of bringing enough people eligible for deportation to an airplane at the same time.
The government already awarded one $30 million contract for help with “due diligence services and concept design” for the new facilities, procurement records show. That award fueled a public backlash among members of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, a Kansas tribe that said a business connected to the tribe had acted against their wishes in pursuing the contract.
Tribal Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick said in a Dec. 17 video that the tribe has exited the contract and plans “to ensure that our nation’s economic interests do not come into conflict with our values in the future.”
The business that won the award, KPB Services LLC, could not be reached at phone numbers listed online for the company.
The biggest newly proposed warehouse would hold up to 10,000 detainees in Stafford, an industrial area 40 miles south of Washington. A facility with capacity for up to 9,500 people is planned for Hutchins, near Dallas; and another with space for 9,000 in Hammond, east of Baton Rouge. Currently, ICE’s biggest facility is a makeshift tent encampment built this summer at the Fort Bliss U.S. Army base in Texas. It now holds around 3,000 people but was expected to have a capacity of 5,000 by year’s end.
The warehouse solicitation document names nine active detention centers as part of the project’s final phase, suggesting that at least those facilities would continue to be used. The plan does not mention whether other existing facilities would be phased out.
It does not give a timeline for beginning work on the project but says the facilities must begin accepting detainees 30 to 60 calendar days after the start of construction.
Staffing facilities of this size is likely to be a challenge, said Jason Houser, a former ICE chief of staff under President Joe Biden. Prospective workers will need medical or other specialized training and will have to pass federal security clearances, he said.
This problem is already bearing out in other new facilities. In September, the government’s own inspectors found that the Fort Bliss site employed less than two-thirds of the security personnel it had agreed to in its contract.
“We can always find more warehouses,” Houser said. The ability to operate the facilities safely, he said, is “always limited by staffing.”
Aaron Schaffer contributed to this report
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