Background

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is attempting to convert an 825,000-square-foot industrial warehouse in Washington County, Maryland into a massive ICE detention facility despite overwhelming environmental, infrastructure, and human rights concerns.

DHS is now accepting public comments until July 1 as part of the environmental review process.

This public comment period exists because the State of Maryland took DHS to court. In February 2026, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown sued DHS after the agency attempted to move forward with the project without conducting the environmental review required by federal law. The lawsuit showed that DHS unlawfully fast-tracked the project while failing to adequately evaluate impacts on local waterways, wastewater systems, traffic, emergency services, public health, air quality, and surrounding communities.

Maryland has already won significant victories in court. A federal judge largely halted the project and forced DHS to begin the environmental review process it had previously attempted to avoid. As a result, DHS must now create a public record and consider public input before moving forward.

Every public comment submitted becomes part of that official record. Those comments can help demonstrate widespread opposition to the project, identify environmental and infrastructure concerns DHS must address, and strengthen the record that will be scrutinized throughout the ongoing legal battle.

Who Should Submit Public Comment:

Residents in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania will be most directly impacted if the this 825,000 square foot ICE detention center is opened, but anyone concerned with the environmental impacts can and should submit a public comment.

The Environmental Impacts if the Facility Opens

One of the most serious environmental concerns associated with the proposed ICE detention warehouse is wastewater. The Maryland Department of the Environment estimates the facility would generate more than 187,000 gallons of wastewater per day. That wastewater has to go somewhere.

Washington County's sewer infrastructure is already at capacity, and increasing the current property's daily sewage output by over 234 times would overwhelming collection lines, pump stations, and treatment capacity. When sewer systems exceed their capacity, the result is sanitary sewer overflows, where untreated or partially treated sewage backs up into streets, properties, and waterways.

If sewage spills occur, they would not remain confined to the detention facility site. The area drains into local streams that ultimately connect to the Conococheague Creek, then flow down the Potomac River, and then the Chesapeake Bay, meaning contamination would move far beyond Washington County. Raw sewage releases would introduce bacteria, viruses, excess nutrients, and other pollutants into waterways, harming aquatic ecosystems, degrading water quality, and creating public health risks for downstream communities.

The environmental and health impacts associated with this proposed facility would affect communities throughout the Potomac watershed, including parts of Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware. This would also affect southern Pennsylvania. Our recent blog post explains many of the ways this will affect these six states.

Before DHS adds an additional 187,000 gallons of wastewater per day to the system, the public deserves clear answers about whether the existing infrastructure can safely handle that volume, what upgrades would be required, who would pay for them, and what protections are in place to prevent sewage overflows into nearby streams and rivers.

This is one of the most important opportunities the public has had to influence the future of this project. The comments submitted now will become part of the administrative record DHS must consider before deciding whether to proceed.

We have a chance to make it clear that this detention facility is not welcome in Washington County and should never be allowed to open.

Still unsure what to submit as a public comment to DHS before July 1?

Here's one very specific thing you can ask for:

Request that DHS publicly release the reports and assessments it claims to have relied upon when concluding that it is "not aware of any potential for significant environmental impacts" from this project.

According to DHS's own documents, those materials include:

• Wastewater & Domestic Water Infrastructure Assessment
• Third-party Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
• Site utilities report
• Floodplain information
• Documentation regarding wetlands, water features, cultural resources, and threatened and endangered species

DHS is asking the public to comment on the environmental impacts of this project while withholding the very studies it used to determine those impacts they claim do not exist.

A public comment period only works if the public has access to the information necessary to provide informed comments. Otherwise, it is difficult to view the process as a good-faith opportunity for public participation.

If DHS truly believes these reports support its conclusion, it should release them before the comment period closes so the public can review the evidence for themselves.

The Deadline is July 1

Use the form to submit a public comment and urge DHS to abandon this project before it's too late. The deadline to submit public comment to DHS opposing this 825,000 square foot industrial warehouse opening as an ICE detention center is July 1.

Additional Resources:

• Maryland Attorney General's lawsuit against DHS:
https://oag.maryland.gov/News/pages/Attorney-General-Brown-Files-Lawsuit-to-Stop-Construction-of-Unlawful-ICE-Detention-Facility-in-Washington-County.aspx

• The July 1 Deadline: Why Residents of Maryland, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware Should Submit Public Comments on the Washington County ICE Detention Warehouse https://blog.hagerstownrapidresponse.com/p/the-july-1-deadline-why-residents-of-maryland-dc-virginia-west-virginia-pennsylvania-and-delaware-should-submit-public-comments-on-the-washington-county-ice-detention-warehouse

• 10 Reasons We're Opposing the Proposed ICE Detention Center in Washington County, Maryland and Why You Should Submit Public Comment
https://blog.hagerstownrapidresponse.com/p/10-reasons-were-opposing-the-proposed-ice-detention-center-in-washington-county-maryland-and-why-you-should-submit-public-comment

Want to help us in-person?

Join us on Tuesday, June 30 at 9am as we protest outside the Washington County Commissioners meeting in Hagerstown! Location: 100 W Washington St, Hagerstown, Maryland.

They refuse to allow us any public comment about the proposed ICE detention center, but they will allow it at this Tuesday’s meeting about data centers they are pretending to be against.

For continuous updates about this campaign, please also subscribe to our substack: https://substack.com/@hagerstownrapidresponse