Apparently “it doesn’t pass the laugh test” is legal terminology for: this warehouse fight is working.

Today was a major day in the fight to stop the proposed ICE detention warehouse in Washington County.

Hundreds of us gathered outside the federal courthouse in Baltimore this morning to protest the warehouse and show that this fight is only growing. Just hours later, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, finding that the State of Maryland has standing and is likely to succeed in its lawsuit against the federal government.

In one of the most striking moments of the hearing, the judge told DHS attorneys that their arguments “don’t pass the laugh test.” After months of watching officials try to spin, downplay, and obscure what is happening near Hagerstown, it was a remarkable moment of candor from the bench.

This is a major early victory, but it is not the end. The ruling does not currently stop HVAC work inside the warehouse or the installation of an eight-foot security fence around the property. As long as any construction continues, so will our protests.

Washington County has become ground zero in the fight against ICE warehouse expansion, and what this community has built is now a blueprint for other communities facing similar threats. Through weekly protests, public records requests, legal pressure, and coalition organizing, we are showing what resistance looks like in real time.

Today proved something important: this fight is working.

And we are not stopping until this warehouse is dead in writing.

Read more about today on our blog: https://blog.hagerstownrapidresponse.com/p/today-in-baltimore-we-proved-this-fight-is-working