Ice awards $113 million for Hagerstown detention center as opening timeline stays unclear

Monday at 10: 15 a. m. ET, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had awarded a $113 million contract tied to the build-out and operations of a proposed detention and processing center in Washington County, Maryland. The unresolved question is when the facility will actually begin operating—and whether legal and environmental challenges, including a lawsuit by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, will alter or delay the project.

ICE contract for KVG LLC adds to at least $215 million in federal spending

Federal spending records show ICE awarded the $113 million contract to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania-based KVG LLC. The award relates to the build-out and operations of a detention and processing site planned inside an 825, 000-square-foot warehouse in Williamsport, Maryland.

The federal government’s total spending on the warehouse has reached at least $215 million. That figure includes the Department of Homeland Security’s purchase of the facility for $102. 4 million less than two months before the contract award, with plans to retrofit it into a detention and processing center for as many as 1, 500 immigrants at once.

Still, the contract’s scope leaves room for additional expansion: it contains potential future options that could grow the total to as much as $642 million over three years. Those options are not confirmed spending and remain contingent on future decisions reflected in federal records.

KVG LLC end date of May 4 is confirmed, but operational start remains unconfirmed

USAspending. gov lists an end date of May 4 for the contract. What that date means in practice is unresolved. It is unclear when the Williamsport facility will be up and running as a detention and processing site, and that operational timeline remained unconfirmed as of 10: 15 a. m. ET Monday.

Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security and ICE could not immediately be reached for comment in the account provided. A representative of KVG also could not immediately be reached for comment on the deal.

For now, residents have pointed to signs of momentum near the site, including increased activity in the area, an influx of mostly unmarked vehicles in parking lots, and upgrades to nearby sewer line access. Those observations confirm changes around the property, but they do not confirm a specific opening date, staffing plan, or detainee intake schedule.

Anthony Brown lawsuit and local capacity questions are the next measurable pressure points

Anthony Brown, the Maryland attorney general, sued ICE last month seeking to stop the Williamsport facility over environmental concerns. announcing the lawsuit, Brown said the administration “secretly” purchased the warehouse without consulting the state or surrounding community. The suit’s progress—and any court orders or rulings—represents a concrete, observable trigger that could clarify whether the project proceeds as planned or faces limits.

Washington County has also become the focal point of competing local views. Residents have packed county government meetings to fight the detention center, raising concerns about possible impacts on local infrastructure and expressing broader objections to increased immigration enforcement. Others in the mostly conservative county support the project and President Donald Trump’s immigration strategy, while also questioning whether local roads, hospitals, and sewer lines in the small town can handle a sudden influx of 1, 500 people.

What remains unresolved is which of those concerns will translate into binding constraints. A court decision in Brown’s case would be one clear inflection point. Another would be any confirmed statement from DHS or ICE detailing operational benchmarks—such as a start date for detainee processing, capacity targets, and infrastructure upgrades—none of which is confirmed in the provided record.

The next dated milestone currently visible in federal records is the contract end date of May 4. If ICE confirms the Williamsport facility is operational by May 4, an increase in confirmed on-site processing and detention activity is expected shortly thereafter; if the lawsuit results in a court-ordered pause, opening and intake would be expected to shift beyond that date.