Washington County ICE facility: Local leaders met with feds on center for up to 1,500 people

New details are emerging on plans for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility outside of Hagerstown, Maryland.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners met with Department of Homeland Security leadership this week about how the huge warehouse in Williamsport will be used.

DHS purchased the 54-acre property in Williamsport for more than $100 million in January. Since then, few details have been released, leading to protests outside where the commissioners meet.

The county said Wednesday that local officials got an update from DHS about the facility, saying it will be a processing center, with detainees expected to stay from three to seven days.

According to the county, DHS anticipates about 500 beds would be used daily, though the facility would be able to hold up to 1,500 people.

The city of Hagerstown provides water for the facility. No one from the county or federal government has contacted them about expanding water needs, spokesman Wes Decker told the News4 I-Team.

“That’s the interesting thing: We have not at this point – the city of Hagerstown has had no communication whatsoever with the DHS or anyone else as it relates to this property, asking for any more allocation, to change the allocation or anything along those lines,” he said.

DHS hired defense contractor KVG, out of Pennsylvania, to renovate and run the facility.

The county said the company will decide if any additional water or wastewater needs are required and that the federal government would pay for any needed improvements.

News4 reached out to KVG about the timeline but has not heard back.

A DHS spokesperson told the I-Team: “These will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. Sites have 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.”

Congressional hearings have raised new questions about the training ICE officers are receiving to help carry out President Trump’s deportation mission. The testimony comes as some law enforcement experts tell the News4 I-Team they worry damage from violent encounters with ICE officers in cities such as Minneapolis will harm public trust in law enforcement for years to come. An ICE retiree with 20 years’ experience grew emotional as he described changes. News4’s Tracee Wilkins reports.