BREAKING: DHS Purchases Hagerstown Warehouse for $102.4 Million
By purchasing the property outright, DHS avoids state limits on immigration detention facilities while expanding ICE’s presence in Maryland.
The Department of Homeland Security has purchased the Hagerstown-area warehouse previously identified as a potential ICE site, according to property records recorded this week in Washington County, Maryland.
A general warranty deed recorded on January 22, 2026, shows the property at 16220 Wright Road was sold by FRIND-Hopewell, LLC to the United States of America, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement listed as the acquiring federal agency. The purchase price was $102.4 million, and the transfer conveys fee simple ownership, the strongest form of property title under Maryland law.
The warehouse occupies 825,620 square feet in Washington County, where federal records show strategic access to major interstates and proximity to regional air transport.
The Hagerstown property previously appeared on a leaked list of warehouses nationwide that ICE was evaluating for potential detainee holding operations.
The transaction is significant in the context of Maryland’s Dignity Not Detention Act, which bars the state from entering into new contracts that allow local or state facilities to be used for civil immigration detention. The law does not prohibit the federal government from operating facilities it owns directly. By purchasing the site outright—rather than leasing or contracting for space—DHS appears to have structured the acquisition in a way that remains within the bounds of state law while still allowing ICE to expand its physical presence in Maryland.
The deed does not specify how the facility will be used. DHS has not publicly detailed the site’s intended function, a timeline for operations, or whether the property will be used for detention, processing, or other enforcement-related purposes.
This is a developing story.
My wife and I did a video on this property a few days ago before the sale updated on SDAT. We are updating it with this info and will collab with you.
thanks for putting this info together and sharing it.