Maryland Gov. Moore meets with Washington County leaders amid concerns about ICE detention center
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Rep. McClain Delaney met with leaders in Washington County on Monday amid concerns about plans to establish an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center near Hagerstown.
During the roundtable on Monday, Gov. Moore and Rep. Delaney heard from community leaders.
State and local leaders began raising concerns after ICE confirmed that it bought a warehouse at 16220 Wright Road in Williamsport with the intent to turn it into a 1,500-person immigration detention center.
An ICE spokesperson said the Hagerstown facility has "undergone community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase."
ICE also said the facility will bring 1,125 jobs to the area, and would provide an economic boost.
"These economic benefits don't even take into account that removing criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers," ICE stated. "ICE is targeting criminal illegal aliens, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members and more."
Potential immigration detention center
"These will not be warehouses — they will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards," an ICE spokesperson said. "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."
The Washington County Board of County Commissioners expressed support and passed a resolution to welcome the facility. However, several state leaders opposed the move.
In a letter sent to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE, several state senators and representatives raised concerns about how the facility would impact the county's public health systems, infrastructure and first responders.
Work temporarily paused
Last week, a federal judge extended an order temporarily halting work at the facility after an emergency motion filed by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. The judge indicated that he plans to hear arguments over the detention center in mid April.
In early March, AG Brown filed a lawsuit claiming that ICE and DHS failed to conduct an environmental review of the project or allow for public comment.
The lawsuit further claimed that DHS and ICE are disregarding federal law while moving quickly to implement a nationwide agenda.
ICE has not responded to a request for a comment on the lawsuit.
