Maryland Delegation Members Press Trump Administration to Cancel ICE Detention Warehouse in Washington County

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, joined by U.S. Representatives April McClain Delaney, Steny Hoyer, Jamie Raskin, Kweisi Mfume, Glenn Ivey, Johnny Olszewski, and Sarah Elfreth (all D-Md.) pressed the Trump Administration to cancel plans for the ICE Detention Warehouse in Washington County due, in part, to the potential environmental impacts and infrastructure deficiencies of the proposed facility. With these concerns in mind and the lack of community input, the members urged the Department of Homeland Security to cancel its plans. "As we shared in our March 5 comment letter, the process that the Administration has used to purchase, plan, and develop this site has wrongfully excluded the voices of our constituents and the communities that would be impacted by its operation," the lawmakers wrote . The letter highlights significant concerns about the proposed facility's infrastructure, noting that the warehouse DHS purchased for $102.4 million was originally equipped with only four commercial toilets and would require extensive upgrades to support a detention center housing up to 1,500 people. "DHS cannot credibly claim that such sweeping infrastructure deficiencies can be addressed through a superficial assessment while ignoring the significant public safety, infrastructure, environmental, and community impacts that would accompany a detention facility of this scale," the lawmakers wrote. "We call on DHS to conduct a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement, informed by meaningful public participation, before any further development proceeds." The Maryland Delegation also criticized DHS for continuing to pursue the project despite reports that ICE plans to dispose of seven of the eleven detention warehouses it previously purchased after spending nearly $1 billion on the properties. "DHS continues to fail to justify this project, meaningfully engage the public, and answer Congress's oversight inquiries," the lawmakers concluded. "We urge you to terminate this proposal and stand ready to pursue every available avenue to ensure accountability if you do not." The Members’ letter was also submitted as part of DHS’ public scoping request seeking public feedback on potential environmental issues or concerns. Full text of the letter is available here and below. Dear Secretary Mullin and Acting Director Venturella, As members of Maryland’s Congressional Delegation, we write once again in strong opposition to the renewed efforts by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to convert the 800,000 square foot warehouse at 10900 Hopewell Road in Williamsport, Maryland into a 1,500-bed immigration detention facility. As we shared in our March 5th comment letter, the process that the Administration has used to purchase, plan, and develop this site has wrongfully excluded the voices of our constituents and the communities that would be impacted by its operation. Time and again, these hastily advanced warehouse projects have been abandoned, delayed, or sold after generating widespread public opposition. It was reported last month that ICE plans to sell or give away seven of the eleven warehouses it purchased for $1 billion to detain migrants. These seven warehouses were purchased for more than $700 million. Continuing to pursue this facility in Washington County would squander additional time and taxpayer resources while imposing unnecessary costs on state, local, and private entities throughout the State of Maryland. On June 1, DHS issued a three-page Early Notice and Public Review of a Warehouse Renovation, providing the public with a 30-day comment period. This comment period comes three months after the Early Notice and Public Review of a Proposed Activity in a 100- to 500- Year Floodplain, for which DHS afforded the public a wholly inadequate seven-day window for the public to review and provide their thoughts. As our Delegation made clear in our first letter, the Department's effort to establish this facility is fundamentally misguided, deeply flawed, and likely to create conditions that violate the constitutional and human rights of the individuals it intends to detain. Recently, a federal judge found that the conditions at ICE’s Baltimore Holding Rooms “woefully fail to comport with the contemporary standards of decency.” The solution is not for DHS to create another facility at which rights can be violated. Further, the current notice reinforces the perception that the Department seeks to rush public review of one of the most consequential, controversial, and ill-conceived projects it has undertaken in our home state. The Department’s current scoping notice outlines the intention to install a 750,000-gallon onsite domestic water storage tank and booster pump system to mitigate impacts on local water infrastructure. However, the notice fails to acknowledge that the warehouse the Department purchased for $102.4 million—more than $30 million above its assessed value—was equipped with only four commercial toilets. Such a glaring deficiency underscores how fundamentally unsuitable the facility is for its proposed purpose and exposes the inadequacy of the Department's cursory environmental review. The Department cannot credibly claim that such sweeping infrastructure deficiencies can be addressed through a superficial assessment while ignoring the significant public safety, infrastructure, environmental, and community impacts that would accompany a detention facility of this scale. We call on DHS to conduct a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement, informed by meaningful public participation, before any further development proceeds. The Maryland Delegation will insist that all obligations are met and will hold you and your employees accountable for complying with them. The Department continues to fail to justify this project, meaningfully engage the public, and answer Congress's oversight inquiries. We urge you to terminate this proposal and stand ready to pursue every available avenue to ensure accountability if you do not. Sincerely,