The Washington County Board of County Commissioners would like you to know they are “engaging early and openly” with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about the proposed ICE detention warehouse near Hagerstown.
There’s just one small detail.
They held the meeting first…
and told the public after it was already over.
Apparently, in Washington County, “early and open” now means retroactive disclosure.
You don’t need to be a policy expert to understand why residents are frustrated. For months, people have been asking basic questions about water, sewage capacity, zoning, and public safety – and getting little to no response. But when it comes to meeting with DHS about a massive, 825,000 square foot ICE detention facility?
That happens quietly. Behind closed doors. With a six-sentence press release afterward.
But don’t worry – they’re “engaging early and openly.” Just not with the public.
At this point, the phrase is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Because from the outside, it looks less like engagement and more like a pattern:
- Decisions first
- Disclosure later
- Public left connecting the dots
Including, in this case, local members of Hagerstown Rapid Response discovering that the ICE facility would be opening soon through Indeed job postings — not from the people elected to represent them.
And when residents try to engage directly, they’re not exactly welcomed into the conversation.
“Residents have been asking these questions for months and getting silence,” said Claire Connor of Hagerstown Rapid Response. It’s clear our local government does not value dialogue with voters — they’ve even blocked me from commenting on the Washington County Government Facebook page. That raises serious First Amendment concerns.”
So let’s try this again:
Washington County: “We’re engaging early and openly.”
Residents: “Cool. Why did we find out about the meeting after it ended?”
This is a prime example of why we are protesting outside the County Commissioners’ meetings every week. We are no longer asking for transparency. We’re demanding it.
Here’s how you can join the fight:
- Join us today, Tuesday, March 17 @ 8:30 am as we protest outside the Washington County Commissioners Meeting 100 West Washington Street, Hagerstown, MD.
- 👉Sign our petition “Stop the ICE Detention Center in Washington County”
- 👉Sign our petition “Tell Indeed and Other Job Websites to Stop Taking Money to Promote ICE Detention Center Jobs”