Today in Baltimore, We Proved This Fight Is Working

DHS went to court to defend their ICE warehouse plan and walked away with a judge openly laughing at their argument.

Today was one of those days that reminds you exactly why we organize.

This morning, hundreds of us gathered outside the federal courthouse in Baltimore to send a clear message: Washington County will not quietly become the site of a new ICE detention warehouse. We came from Hagerstown, Baltimore, Montgomery County, Frederick, and communities across Maryland. Faith leaders stood beside immigrant rights advocates. Longtime organizers stood beside people who are joining this fight for the first time. The energy outside the courthouse was unmistakable. People understand what is at stake, and they are showing up.

Then, just hours after the rally, came the news we had all been waiting for.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in the lawsuit brought by the State of Maryland, finding that the state has standing and is likely to succeed in its case against the federal government. In plain English, the court recognized that Maryland’s arguments are strong and that this case deserves to move forward. For everyone who has spent months organizing, researching, protesting, filing public records requests, speaking to the press, and demanding accountability, today’s ruling was a major early victory.

What made the moment even more striking was the judge’s own language in court. At one point, Judge Brendan Hurson told DHS attorneys that their arguments “don’t pass the laugh test.”

Read that again.

After months of officials trying to downplay what is happening near Hagerstown, after carefully worded statements and procedural maneuvers designed to obscure the reality on the ground, a federal judge openly signaled skepticism toward the government’s defense. That moment captured what so many in this community have felt from the beginning: this project has been pushed forward on a flimsy foundation, both legally and morally.

At the same time, we want to be very clear that this is not the end of the fight.

The court’s order does not currently halt HVAC renovations inside the warehouse or the installation of an eight-foot security fence around the perimeter. Those details matter. They are not minor. They are visible signs that work connected to this project is still continuing, and as long as construction continues in any form, our work continues too. This ruling is a major blow to DHS and ICE, but it is not yet the final word that this warehouse will never open as an ICE facility.

What today also proved is that Washington County has become ground zero in the fight against ICE warehouse expansion.

What started as a local fight has become something much larger. Over the past several months, our community has built a blueprint that other communities can use when federal agencies attempt to move detention infrastructure into their neighborhoods. We have shown what it looks like to combine rapid response organizing with sustained weekly protests, legal pressure, media scrutiny, public records requests, and coalition building. This is no longer just a Washington County story. It is a roadmap for resistance.

Today’s rally reflected that growth.

We were proud to stand alongside Allies for Democracy, the Baltimore Rapid Response Network, CASA, Cat Ladies for America, the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ, Community Witness, Congregation Action Network, Doctors for Camp Closure, the Greater Baltimore Democratic Socialists of America, the Indivisible Maryland Coalition, Jews United for Justice, the Maryland Coalition to Stop the Camps, the Montgomery County Immigrant Rights Collective, Never Again Action DC, Thriving Commons, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick, the Washington County NAACP, and the Western Maryland Immigrant Rights Collective, among many others.

That coalition did not come together by accident. It is the result of people recognizing that what happens in Hagerstown and Washington County has consequences far beyond county lines.

Today proved that people power and legal pressure are working.

But let’s be honest: this was an early ruling, not a final victory. We are encouraged, energized, and deeply proud of what this community has built, but we are not done. We will continue showing up every Tuesday. We will continue pushing for transparency. We will continue making noise in the courts, in the media, and in the streets until it is formally ruled, in writing, that this warehouse will never open as an ICE detention facility.

Today was a major step forward.

Tomorrow, the fight continues.