Correction: This article previously stated that the address on the contracts leads back to ICE. The following has been updated to reflect it is an expert opinion they are for ICE operations.
It’s not a question of if ICE will be expanding operations in Maryland, but exactly where and when, according to an expert familiar with federal law enforcement contracts.
Transparency has not been a highlight of the federal agency as it continues the White House directed immigration crackdown, with agents wearing masks and operating out of unmarked cars.
However, federal bids for administrative space suggest the agency is planning to expand in Maryland according to federal employment attorney Dan Meyer, with Tully Rinckey PLLC.
“The contracts are a good sort of tracer to figure out what's going on,” Meyer said.
“It's terrifying, because it has already had a huge impact in our community,” Crisaly De Los Santos said. “That means more families will be separated, more folks are gonna be terrified of going out and doing their daily activities, dropping off their kids at school.”
De los Santos is the Baltimore and Central Maryland director of CASA, an advocacy organization for immigrant communities that has turned to grassroots reports to track ICE enforcement activity in Maryland over the past year.
Late last month, bids seeking competitive lease proposals for "law enforcement operations" in two locations in the state were posted, asking for fully-furnished office spaces that can accommodate security reinforcements.
In Baltimore City, the request was for a location with between 5,100 and 6,801 square feet. And in Hyattsville, 3,750 to 5,001 sq. ft.
“It’s a fairly large amount of square footage for just a regional office of a federal law enforcement agency. So, this looks big. Looks like it could accommodate anywhere from 60 to 100 special agents,” Meyer explained.
Though the bids do not say "ICE" Meyer says confidently that the agency would be behind the expansion.
"I know of no other law enforcement organization with the need to expand in that many cities for those facilities, and with the funds to do it," Meyer said.
The "One Big Beautiful Bill" allocated $75 billion to ICE. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the money the agency now has at its disposal is triple what it was last fiscal year.
The agency has not responded to WMAR-2 News’ request for comment.
"Frankly, if they were interested in community relations, [they] would be talking to the municipal authorities in Baltimore, and they would agree on a common statement about what's going on," Meyer said. "They should just put it out publicly rather than to be seen as trying to wheel a Trojan horse into the city."
The heads up is helpful, De Los Santos said, but they’ve already been preparing for this.
“We are continuing to stand with our immigrant community, providing education, know your rights and working with the allied networks for them to know how to report sightings and detentions," she said.
The contract bids were also posted on the same day Baltimore County agreed to cooperate with the agency, and was removed from a list designating them a sanctuary jurisdiction.
An In Focus look at data on ICE detentions
“That’s not a place where Baltimore County ought to be. I know there’s threat of losing money, but I haven’t seen an itemization," District 2 Baltimore County councilman Izzy Patoka said.
In direct response, Patoka says he plans to file legislation, similar to that of neighboring Howard County next month, with the goal to put up guardrails on local ICE operations and local collaboration with federal authorities.
“ICE is the antithesis of community policing, it's terrorist policing,”Patoka said. “This is going to be a tough fight. But I haven't been afraid to stand up to fight for good causes."
Meanwhile, because we are nearing the holiday season, Meyer says the new potential ICE offices might not be up and running until late January to early March.
Though the public may not know where they are until much later, with a post-contracting process that can last between four to eight months to produce documentation.
