County Fight
Contested
Washington County MD — Hagerstown/Williamsport 1,500-Bed Warehouse Fight
Washington, MD
FIPS 24043
Current status: Federal TRO halting construction, DHS review pausing project. Hearing Apr 15-16, 2026. County commissioners support ICE but state + community opposition strong.
The Fight
DHS purchased an 825,620 sq ft warehouse near Williamsport for $102.4M on Jan 16, 2026 and signed a $113M renovation contract. Maryland AG sued, federal judge issued TRO, DHS Secretary Mullin paused all new warehouse purchases.
Key Actors
- Maryland AG Anthony Brown — filed federal lawsuit Feb 23
- U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson — issued TRO Mar 11, extended Mar 19
- Washington County Commissioners — passed pro-ICE proclamation Feb 10 (room cleared after booing)
- Earthjustice / Center for Biological Diversity — amicus brief on endangered species
- Potomac Riverkeeper Network — environmental concerns
- Washington County Indivisible — community opposition
- MD Congressional delegation — bipartisan pushback
- DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin — paused warehouse purchases Apr 1
Split Community
Unusually, this fight features a split between the county government (supportive of ICE) and the state government + community opposition:
- Commissioners voted to support DHS/ICE on Feb 10
- Sheriff Brian Albert maintained 287(g) cooperation until the state ban forced termination
- Community protesters packed the commissioners’ meeting so aggressively the room was cleared
- April 9 rally drew significant crowds despite project being paused
Legal Timeline
See hagerstown-md-warehouse for full timeline.
Sources
This research is published at The RAMM — investigative reporting on the detention pipeline.