Governor Wes Moore was joined by Western Maryland Congresswoman April McClain Delaney on Monday as they spoke with Washington County leaders about a planned ICE detention facility.
The more than 800,000 square foot warehouse was purchased by the Department of Homeland Security in January. ICE plans to transform the warehouse into an immigration detention center capable of handling 1,500 detainees.
Located near the city of Williamsport, residents and officials alike have raised concerns over the seeming lack of transparency that went into the purchase. Further worries have been raised that the facility could overburden local water needs and emergency response services.
In February, Delaney filed the Keep ICE Out of Washington County, Maryland Act, designed to deny funding to the facility, and provide residents a legal opportunity to challenge construction. This was later followed by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown who filed for a court order to halt work pending investigations into the facility’s environmental impact.
Transparency
Moore and Delaney agreed with local leaders that the lack of transparency between the federal and state government has been troubling. The governor insisted that such cooperation is nothing new for Maryland, highlighting the state is home to over 60 federal agencies and 20 major military installations.
Despite this, Moore pointed to more than 25,000 Marylanders who were fired across last year as part of government cuts. “This is just continuing to show the level of disrespect and the lack of transparency that we have seen from this Trump/Vance administration,” Moore said.
To that end, new documents revealed Washington County asked for hundreds of millions of dollars from the Department of Homeland Security for the warehouse. Moore questioned why Marylanders didn’t see that funding when flooding struck the area last year. “We have been trying to work with DHS for months to get federal disaster relief and have been literally met with the response of, ‘support for Maryland is not warranted,’” Moore explained. “It is kind of ironic to me that, out of nowhere now, they can just find $100 million of tax-payer dollars to put towards buying a facility, and then an additional $100 million to retrofit it so humans can be used there instead of packages.”
Delaney concurred with Moore, saying the Trump administration hasn’t even done the bare minimum to communicate with local residents. These decisions, she said, have left people frustrated. “The sense of community has been overshadowed by this proposed ICE detention center,” Delaney said.
Human Rights Concerns
Taj Smith, president of the Washington County NAACP, said she is deeply troubled by the Trump administration's immigration practices. She described the tactics being used as a, “clear attack on black and brown communities.”
She highlighted the center is planned to go through as many detainees as the entire population of Williamsport each year, as the facility is planned to be a major hub between multiple states. To that end, Delaney warns she has already seen the conditions in the older Baltimore City ICE facility, where she described, “the crowded holding rooms are much worse than I’ve seen in prisons.” Delaney is demanding she be allowed to tour the Williamsport facility personally.
Michael Lukens, Executive Director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, said the facility will be like drinking out of a fire hose. He warns it will not stay empty for long, claiming ICE is going to arrest and fill the detention center.
His organization already conducts free legal services for people arrested and detained by ICE, but worries it may not be enough. “There’s not enough of us to help everybody who gets arrested to get a fair day in court, and this warehouse is going to make it near impossible,” Lukens said.
Lukens alleges ICE is going to make due process nearly impossible, making it hard for detainees to seek legal representation or visits from family. He said this in light of a report showing ICE had detained the parents of more than 11,000 US citizen children. “This is going to tear apart communities,” Lukens said. “It’s going to tear apart families.”
Economic Impact
Hagerstown Mayor William McIntire demanded the federal government provide a clear outline regarding how the warehouse will impact the local water supply, wastewater capacity and the utility demands prior to the facility becoming operational. “The facility…intended to process 1,500 individuals represents a significant and immediate burden on our regional infrastructure,” McIntire said. “This is not a political statement, it is an engineering reality.”
Moore furthered the point by highlighting the facility in question was originally designed to be a warehouse. He feels Washington County could actually see a significant drop in economic opportunities as a result of the detention center. “This will not present any kind of economic growth that the community deserves and that the community needs,” Moore said.
