ICE may be gearing up to bring more agents into Baltimore and other parts of Maryland, according to public records analyzed by WYPR and federal procurement experts.
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security posted two contracts at the end of October requesting proposals for “administrative office space in support of law enforcement operations” in Baltimore and Hyattsville, Md. The Baltimore facility will be between 11,500 and 18,500 square feet, while the Hyattsville space will range between 3,750 and 5,000 square feet.
“ICE is definitely on the footprint of those contracts, and it is a fair amount of space,” said Dan Meyer, a partner at Tully Rinckey, who specializes in federal employment. “I was kind of doing some back of the napkin calculations [for the Baltimore location]. That's anywhere from 60 to 100 special agents. That's a lot of space.”
The proposals follow the pattern of previous contract solicitations posted by the General Services Administration, the government agency in charge of procuring office space for the government.
In September, the GSA's Public Buildings Service posted a solicitation for "as-is, fully-finished and furnished office space in support of administrative operations for law enforcement" in 19 cities across the country. The listing estimates each lease would include workstations for 70 people and notes the "unique" quick period of one week to submit bids.
ICE previously requested that GSA identify existing federally owned or leased property that might be suitable for their use in a range of cities across the country, including Baltimore.
Hyattsville sits in the middle of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, which hold more than half of Maryland’s Latino and Hispanic population.
“GSA is committed to working with all of our partner agencies to meet their workspace needs. GSA remains focused on supporting this administration’s goal of optimizing the federal footprint, and providing the best workplaces for our federal agencies to meet their mission,” a spokesman for GSA told WYPR when asked for comment.
ICE did not respond for comment in time for publication.
It’s not just office space that is tipping off a possible larger ICE presence.
ICE and DHS awarded a contract at the end of September to Kinro Manufacturing for more than $233,000 for six months worth of shelf stable meals.
The contract is for 42,000 meals in Baltimore and Salisbury, Maryland.
The contract and proposals come as President Donald Trump recently said ICE raids “have not gone far enough,” during an interview with 60 Minutes.
In response, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Fox News, “No one is off the table.”
“We're going to use all the tools in the toolbox. We have great federal partners,” he said. “Department of Justice has been outstanding with us, and we are going to team up with everyone that wants to work with us, and we're to go out there and keep the president's promise to sure that we have one of the largest deportation efforts ever."
The president has also ordered the mobilization of more than 23,000 National Guard troops for “quick reaction forces” to deal with civil disturbances.
Data from ICE shows that in the first six months of the Trump administration ICE arrests more than doubled compared to the previous year.
NPR contributed to the reporting of this article.
