Ice has awarded a $113 million contract tied to the build-out and operations of a proposed detention and processing center in Washington County, Maryland, federal spending records show. The award, listed Friday on USAspending. gov, goes to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania-based KVG LLC and centers on an 825, 000-square-foot warehouse in Williamsport. The project is already under legal challenge and has triggered packed local meetings as residents argue over infrastructure strain and expanded immigration enforcement.
Ice award details: $113 million now, with options that could rise
The contract for the Williamsport warehouse lists an end date of May 4, though it is unclear when the facility will be up and running. The agreement includes potential future options that could expand the total value to as much as $642 million over three years.
Federal spending tied to the site totals at least $215 million. That figure reflects the new $113 million contract alongside a separate purchase of the facility by the Department of Homeland Security for $102. 4 million less than two months earlier, for a planned retrofit into a detention and processing site for as many as 1, 500 immigrants at once.
The warehouse was originally designed as a logistics and distribution hub for a big-box company. Residents in recent weeks have also pointed to increased activity near the site, including more vehicles in parking lots—many described as mostly unmarked—and upgrades to nearby sewer line access.
Officials and residents react as Washington County meetings draw crowds
Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security and Ice could not immediately be reached for comment. A representative of KVG LLC also could not immediately be reached for comment on the deal.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has moved to block the project in court. announcing a lawsuit filed last month, Brown said the administration “secretly” purchased the warehouse without consulting the state or the surrounding community, and the suit seeks to stop the Williamsport facility over environmental concerns.
On the ground in Washington County, the proposal has split residents who have packed county government meetings to fight it and those who support it. Opposition has included worries about local infrastructure and community impacts. Supporters, while backing tougher immigration enforcement, have also raised practical questions about whether local roads, hospitals, and sewer lines in the small town can handle an influx of up to 1, 500 people.
National strategy and the Maryland fight over a warehouse conversion
The Williamsport project is described as one of dozens of warehouses the federal government has purchased or is considering for conversion as part of a plan to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants. The facility has drawn debate both nationally and across Maryland.
The Department of Defense—recently renamed the Department of War—has awarded KVG LLC numerous contracts in recent years for logistics support, including transportation services and food catering, among other work.
What’s next: May 4 deadline, court pressure, and unanswered questions
Key timelines are now converging: the contract listing shows a May 4 end date, but there is no clear public schedule for when the facility would actually begin operating. The legal challenge filed by Attorney General Anthony Brown is also pending, keeping the project under immediate scrutiny.
In the meantime, local debate is unlikely to cool as residents track visible changes around the site and press officials for clarity on capacity, infrastructure readiness, and the scope of planned operations. For now, the next concrete marker remains the May 4 contract date, as Ice faces mounting pressure to explain what happens at the Williamsport warehouse—and when.
