Hagerstown residents and Maryland leaders rallied in the city square on Tuesday to protest against ICE plans to open warehouses in which to hold immigrants.
NBC News reported in November that ICE was considering buying large warehouses to hold immigrants before they are deported.
In December, The Washington Post reported Hagerstown, in Washington County, was on the list of possible smaller sites across the U.S. Stafford County, Virginia, was listed as another possible site, for a larger facility.
“Wake up. Pay attention to what’s happening before it’s too late,” one man at the protest said.
ICE officials told NBC News in November that the warehouses would “increase efficiency” in deportations and described them as “mega detention centers.”
Among protesters holding up signs and drivers honking in support, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. April McClain Delaney joined.
When asked if officials knew any details about the plans for the warehouse, Van Hollen said they don’t know anything yet.
“We’re asking ICE for answers,” Van Hollen said. “In fact, just today, Senator Alsobrooks and Congresswoman Delaney and I sent the Secretary of Homeland Security a letter asking her about what their plans are [and] what are they planning here?”
When one man at the protest heard about the proposed warehouses for the first time, he said he “threw up” and the news made him feel nauseous.
One woman at the protest said she can’t “even stand the thought of having it in our county.”
“It is cruel. It is almost like concentration camps,” she said. “It’s like jail. I mean, they’re going to be in a warehouse. Can you imagine it? I can’t.”
News4 reached out to ICE for comment. In part, a spokesperson said, “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”
“ICE is targeting the worst of the worst including murderers, rapists, criminals, gang members and more,” the spokesperson said. “We have no new detention centers to announce at this time.”
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