UPDATED: Despite Congress Rep Statement, Still No Official Documents Proving Hagerstown ICE Facility

A recent review of federal contracting data has cast doubt on reports suggesting Hagerstown, Maryland, would be utilized as a new processing site for immigrant detention centers. While an investigation by The Washington Post, citing internal ICE documents, indicated plans for numerous large-scale detention facilities and smaller processing sites across the country, including a potential location in Hagerstown, subsequent analysis suggests a possible misinterpretation of available information, despite viral social media posts and a vague statement from Rep. April McClain Delaney with no source documentation.

This story was updated 1/14/2025 to include information released by Congress Rep. April McClain Delaney and other new information.

The initial report indicated that the administration was exploring the renovation of industrial warehouses nationwide to create a significant expansion of detention capacity, aiming to hold over 80,000 individuals simultaneously as part of a more efficient deportation system. This plan reportedly included seven major holding centers and sixteen smaller processing sites. Hagerstown was specifically mentioned as a potential site for one of these smaller facilities.

However, a closer examination of federal contract awards reveals substantial spending on security guard services provided by KR Contracting, Inc., a company with an office in Hagerstown at 233 N Prospect Street. This company’s primary business is the provision of security guard services, not the construction or operation of detention facilities. It is therefore plausible that the Washington Post’s reporting may have confused the need for security services at potential future sites with the establishment of the detention centers themselves. The lack of publicly released documents by The Washington Post, and a refusal by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to comment on the specific proposal, renders the initial reporting unverifiable.

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Local officials in Hagerstown and Washington County have stated they were unaware of any concrete federal plans for a detention facility in their area and had not been approached by federal authorities regarding such a project. The City of Hagerstown has also emphasized its lack of involvement or confirmation of any such plans.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has not publicly confirmed or denied the specific proposal for a facility in Hagerstown. However, Congress Rep. April McClain Delaney released a statement that the administration is moving forward with such a facility. However, she did not indicate the source of her information.

Sixth District neighbors: Like many of you, I’m deeply concerned by reports that ICE is planning to establish a warehouse detention facility in Hagerstown. I learned today that the Administration is actively moving forward in finding a site. Our congressional office is working in lockstep with our Federal delegation, state, and local officials to keep track of –and push back against –the lawlessness that ICE is inflicting on our communities.
I will not allow any community in our district to become a symbol of this Administration’s failed immigration policy. I will fight this proposal at every turn, and keep you informed every step of the way.

Rep. April McClain Delaney, Facebook post

In addition to McClain Delaney’s Facebook post, a table of supposed visits to potential ICE sites has been circulating through social media. We have reached out to ICE due to inconsistencies in the table which have led to us questioning its authenticity, and until we can verify we will not be publishing the table here. Inconsistencies include the referenced address potentially being a residential location instead of a warehouse, as well as concerns over mislabeling of the classification of the table.

However, the recent review of federal contracts indicates that millions of dollars have been allocated for security guard services to KR Contracting, Inc., a Maryland-based firm that specializes in integrated security solutions for government and commercial clients. This company is veteran-owned, a small business, and HUBZone certified, and has received significant contracts, exceeding $171 million, from the Department of Homeland Security for protective security officer services. Its operational presence includes offices in Germantown, MD, McLean, VA, and Hagerstown, MD, with its primary place of performance for government contracts being Washington, D.C. The company is licensed to operate in Maryland, Virginia, and Texas.

This research suggests that while federal authorities may be utilizing security services from companies like KR Contracting, Inc. in various locations, including Hagerstown, this does not necessarily equate to the establishment of new ICE detention facilities, and that it’s possible that Washington Post misinterpreted this data to indicate that there would be a new ICE facility in Hagerstown. Unfortunately, without the Washington Post releasing their source documentation, we have no means of verifying the accuracy of their analysis.

Source documents used for this reporting are available on DocumentCloud.

Article by Ken Buckler, based upon information from a Washington Post investigation and subsequent contract review at SAM.gov and USASpending.gov.

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