Project Salt Box
@projectsaltbox.bsky.social
Public records enthusiasts. Tracking the flow of post-OBBBA homeland security procurements and government contracts.
Proudly based in Baltimore, MD. ⚫️🟡🦀🔴⚪️
Proudly based in Baltimore, MD. ⚫️🟡🦀🔴⚪️
A Hagerstown resident is challenging the ICE facility over a wrong address in the federal review, exposing how DHS may have bypassed required public consultation.
Under federal law, when agencies skip required procedures, communities have the right to object and demand the process be done properly.
Under federal law, when agencies skip required procedures, communities have the right to object and demand the process be done properly.
Local Resident Challenges Hagerstown ICE Facility Over Misleading Address in Federal Review
Objection alleges DHS used incorrect property address to bypass historic preservation scrutiny and avoid state public notice laws
open.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:41 PM
A Hagerstown resident is challenging the ICE facility over a wrong address in the federal review, exposing how DHS may have bypassed required public consultation.
Under federal law, when agencies skip required procedures, communities have the right to object and demand the process be done properly.
Under federal law, when agencies skip required procedures, communities have the right to object and demand the process be done properly.
Sorry for the link to IG. Our vid was too long for Bsky.
We looked at the environmental and local utility tolls that turning a warehouse to a detention center takes. We also compared these sites to existing ICE sites like McAllen, TX.
Bottom line: it’s a lot.
We looked at the environmental and local utility tolls that turning a warehouse to a detention center takes. We also compared these sites to existing ICE sites like McAllen, TX.
Bottom line: it’s a lot.
Project Salt Box on Instagram: "ICE DETENTION CENTER IN HAGERSTOWN
We analyzed a January 12th letter from DHS to the Washington County Historic District Commission that officially names this site the...
373 likes, 34 comments - projectsaltbox on February 2, 2026: "ICE DETENTION CENTER IN HAGERSTOWN
We analyzed a January 12th letter from DHS to the Washington County Historic District Commission that ...
www.instagram.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Sorry for the link to IG. Our vid was too long for Bsky.
We looked at the environmental and local utility tolls that turning a warehouse to a detention center takes. We also compared these sites to existing ICE sites like McAllen, TX.
Bottom line: it’s a lot.
We looked at the environmental and local utility tolls that turning a warehouse to a detention center takes. We also compared these sites to existing ICE sites like McAllen, TX.
Bottom line: it’s a lot.
Reposted by Project Salt Box
And if you can find out who owns the property, call them out both directly and publicly.
The Ashland, VA deal was canceled because someone went to the Canadian press and the owner (a Canadian company) had people coming at them from two countries.
The Ashland, VA deal was canceled because someone went to the Canadian press and the owner (a Canadian company) had people coming at them from two countries.
February 5, 2026 at 12:40 PM
And if you can find out who owns the property, call them out both directly and publicly.
The Ashland, VA deal was canceled because someone went to the Canadian press and the owner (a Canadian company) had people coming at them from two countries.
The Ashland, VA deal was canceled because someone went to the Canadian press and the owner (a Canadian company) had people coming at them from two countries.
Who pays when the federal government buys big?
New data shows ICE has so far spent nearly $450M acquiring almost 5M sq. ft. of warehouse space. But for local communities, the "sale" comes with a hidden cost: potentially hundreds of thousands in lost state and local tax revenue.
New data shows ICE has so far spent nearly $450M acquiring almost 5M sq. ft. of warehouse space. But for local communities, the "sale" comes with a hidden cost: potentially hundreds of thousands in lost state and local tax revenue.
February 4, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Who pays when the federal government buys big?
New data shows ICE has so far spent nearly $450M acquiring almost 5M sq. ft. of warehouse space. But for local communities, the "sale" comes with a hidden cost: potentially hundreds of thousands in lost state and local tax revenue.
New data shows ICE has so far spent nearly $450M acquiring almost 5M sq. ft. of warehouse space. But for local communities, the "sale" comes with a hidden cost: potentially hundreds of thousands in lost state and local tax revenue.
We officially have our first AI-generated hate piece!
“Project Salt Box” and the Rise of Citizen ICE Monitoring in Maryland - Maryland Bay News
A Maryland volunteer group tracks ICE using public records, raising questions about federal authority, state limits, and the line between transparency and obstruction.
mdbaynews.com
February 4, 2026 at 8:04 PM
We officially have our first AI-generated hate piece!
🚨 New: We built a visual tracker of the warehouses ICE is targeting across the US.
Working off an idea from @actualkatherine.bsky.social, we’ve mapped active searches, canceled deals, and linked state property records.
Explore the map here: tinyurl.com/ICEWarehouse...
Working off an idea from @actualkatherine.bsky.social, we’ve mapped active searches, canceled deals, and linked state property records.
Explore the map here: tinyurl.com/ICEWarehouse...
February 4, 2026 at 6:41 PM
🚨 New: We built a visual tracker of the warehouses ICE is targeting across the US.
Working off an idea from @actualkatherine.bsky.social, we’ve mapped active searches, canceled deals, and linked state property records.
Explore the map here: tinyurl.com/ICEWarehouse...
Working off an idea from @actualkatherine.bsky.social, we’ve mapped active searches, canceled deals, and linked state property records.
Explore the map here: tinyurl.com/ICEWarehouse...
Maryland legislators introduced emergency legislation last week that would prohibit anyone from operating an immigration detention facility in a building not “originally designed and constructed for the purpose of housing or detaining individuals.”
Maryland Bill Would Ban Detention Centers in Repurposed Buildings, Teeing Up Federal Showdown
Emergency legislation prohibits immigration detention in structures not originally built for incarceration, setting up potential Supremacy Clause challenge
projectsaltbox.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Maryland legislators introduced emergency legislation last week that would prohibit anyone from operating an immigration detention facility in a building not “originally designed and constructed for the purpose of housing or detaining individuals.”
For 10 years, AWE has helped people fleeing everything start over in their building at St. Anthony's Parish. This summer they're losing it. The Catholic Diocese is selling the property. AWE tried to buy it, offered more rent, explained the impact on clients. The decision still stands.
You can help.
You can help.
A call for community support from the team at PSB
Help us help an organization that needs it most
projectsaltbox.substack.com
February 3, 2026 at 3:19 PM
For 10 years, AWE has helped people fleeing everything start over in their building at St. Anthony's Parish. This summer they're losing it. The Catholic Diocese is selling the property. AWE tried to buy it, offered more rent, explained the impact on clients. The decision still stands.
You can help.
You can help.
Behind the transaction is a modern real estate vehicle that blurs the line between Wall Street and ordinary investors — Fundrise, a Washington-based investment platform that markets itself as giving everyday people access to private real estate deals.
From Vacant Warehouse to ICE Detention Center: A $102 Million Sale Comes at a 33% Mark Up
A struggling Hagerstown warehouse, refinanced at $76.8 million in June, sold to the federal government for $102.4 million in January, highlighting rapid ICE expansion and a troubled investment
open.substack.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:46 AM
Behind the transaction is a modern real estate vehicle that blurs the line between Wall Street and ordinary investors — Fundrise, a Washington-based investment platform that markets itself as giving everyday people access to private real estate deals.
Join PSB at @redemmas.org to talk about how we are using public records — from federal procurement databases and land deeds to local plumbing and HVAC permits — to track Homeland Security’s unprecedented growth under the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Sat, Feb. 28, 7:00 PM
3128 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore
Sat, Feb. 28, 7:00 PM
3128 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore
2/28 - Project Salt Box: Open Data as Community Defense by Red Emma's
Get tickets and support Red Emma's by becoming a member
withfriends.co
February 2, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Join PSB at @redemmas.org to talk about how we are using public records — from federal procurement databases and land deeds to local plumbing and HVAC permits — to track Homeland Security’s unprecedented growth under the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Sat, Feb. 28, 7:00 PM
3128 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore
Sat, Feb. 28, 7:00 PM
3128 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore
The internal Department of Homeland Security letter that prompted the county’s statement — a three-page document dated Jan. 12 — was not a final order. It was what the agency called an “initiation of consultation.”
Washington County Cited Federal Limits on ICE Facility. It Didn't Mention Its Federal Rights.
County officials say they're powerless to block the detention center. Federal law gives them a formal consultative role they haven't publicly discussed.
open.substack.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:45 PM
The internal Department of Homeland Security letter that prompted the county’s statement — a three-page document dated Jan. 12 — was not a final order. It was what the agency called an “initiation of consultation.”
Reposted by Project Salt Box
me when @projectsaltbox.bsky.social, a group of ragtag volunteers with ADHD and nonexistent sleep schedules, get our reporting picked up by @thebaltimorebanner.com @washingtonpost.com @bloomberg.com and more???? wild times, y'all, wild times.
anyway i think independent journalism can save us <3
anyway i think independent journalism can save us <3
January 30, 2026 at 10:06 PM
me when @projectsaltbox.bsky.social, a group of ragtag volunteers with ADHD and nonexistent sleep schedules, get our reporting picked up by @thebaltimorebanner.com @washingtonpost.com @bloomberg.com and more???? wild times, y'all, wild times.
anyway i think independent journalism can save us <3
anyway i think independent journalism can save us <3
Thanks for checking Dr E!
For anyone following along, I am 95% sure those full hotels have nothing to do with ICE and are not something to be worried about. Unless you think junior volleyball moms and music educators and mental health professionals are scary
January 30, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Thanks for checking Dr E!
We called and tried to reserve hotel rooms at the Hiltons and Marriotts in Baltimore. Any idea why the downtown locations are 100% booked for February?
January 30, 2026 at 4:16 PM
We called and tried to reserve hotel rooms at the Hiltons and Marriotts in Baltimore. Any idea why the downtown locations are 100% booked for February?
PSB has been spotted in reporting from @thebaltimorebanner.com, @baltimorebeat.bsky.social, WYPR, and @washingtonpost.com this week!
Lots of people asking how you can help. Well, here are some ways!
1. Donate to local orgs
2. Use our data for good!
3. Send us tips or things you want to know!
Lots of people asking how you can help. Well, here are some ways!
1. Donate to local orgs
2. Use our data for good!
3. Send us tips or things you want to know!
January 30, 2026 at 2:45 PM
PSB has been spotted in reporting from @thebaltimorebanner.com, @baltimorebeat.bsky.social, WYPR, and @washingtonpost.com this week!
Lots of people asking how you can help. Well, here are some ways!
1. Donate to local orgs
2. Use our data for good!
3. Send us tips or things you want to know!
Lots of people asking how you can help. Well, here are some ways!
1. Donate to local orgs
2. Use our data for good!
3. Send us tips or things you want to know!
@em-knepp.bsky.social with a monthly financial roundup of local Maryland, Virginia, and DC companies — and the big DHS contracts they’re taking on.
@projectsaltbox.bsky.social is launching a monthly report on ICE and CBP spending. DC, MD, and VA companies continue to cash in…
open.substack.com/pub/projects...
open.substack.com/pub/projects...
Follow the Money - January 2026: DMV Companies Awarded $19.5 Million in new ICE and CBP Contracts
Project Salt Box's monthly report on ICE and CBP procurement activities.
open.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:27 AM
@em-knepp.bsky.social with a monthly financial roundup of local Maryland, Virginia, and DC companies — and the big DHS contracts they’re taking on.
“We were prisoners of war.” The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation says they successfully exited a $29.9M contract after a "rogue" tribal official signed on to design the national ICE detention sites, citing the "harm and trauma" mirrored in the project. The Washington County facility was one of them.
ICE Now Owns a Hagerstown Warehouse. A Plan to Design It Is in Shambles.
The first confirmed site in a proposed immigration detention network has been purchased near Hagerstown, even as the Native American nation tied to its design work says it has exited the contract
open.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:39 PM
“We were prisoners of war.” The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation says they successfully exited a $29.9M contract after a "rogue" tribal official signed on to design the national ICE detention sites, citing the "harm and trauma" mirrored in the project. The Washington County facility was one of them.
UPDATE: Washington County's statement mirrors a press release issued by Oklahoma City several weeks earlier, using nearly identical language. The key difference: Oklahoma City outlined steps for local resistance. Washington County offered none.
More at the link below.
More at the link below.
January 28, 2026 at 9:03 PM
UPDATE: Washington County's statement mirrors a press release issued by Oklahoma City several weeks earlier, using nearly identical language. The key difference: Oklahoma City outlined steps for local resistance. Washington County offered none.
More at the link below.
More at the link below.
“Generally, the federal government does not need to respect local zoning regulations that conflict with federal mandates,” the statement said, citing the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. “Washington County is not able to legally restrict the federal government’s ability to proceed.”
UPDATE: DHS Purchases Hagerstown Warehouse for $102.4 Million
As federal authorities finalize the purchase of an 825,000-square-foot site for an immigration center, local leaders concede that county law stops at the property line.
open.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:14 PM
“Generally, the federal government does not need to respect local zoning regulations that conflict with federal mandates,” the statement said, citing the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. “Washington County is not able to legally restrict the federal government’s ability to proceed.”
By purchasing location data from commercial brokers rather than demanding it from carriers, federal agencies contend they can bypass Fourth Amendment protections entirely.
To locate targets, ICE turns to the industry tracking Americans' phones
Immigration enforcement agents want to tap the mobile advertising industry for surveillance tools that constitutional scholars say circumvent Fourth Amendment protections.
projectsaltbox.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:41 PM
By purchasing location data from commercial brokers rather than demanding it from carriers, federal agencies contend they can bypass Fourth Amendment protections entirely.
BREAKING: DHS has purchased an 800,000-square-foot Hagerstown-area warehouse for $102.4 million.
Property records show ICE now owns the site outright, structuring the deal to remain within Maryland’s Dignity Not Detention Act.
Property records show ICE now owns the site outright, structuring the deal to remain within Maryland’s Dignity Not Detention Act.
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.
projectsaltbox.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:15 PM
BREAKING: DHS has purchased an 800,000-square-foot Hagerstown-area warehouse for $102.4 million.
Property records show ICE now owns the site outright, structuring the deal to remain within Maryland’s Dignity Not Detention Act.
Property records show ICE now owns the site outright, structuring the deal to remain within Maryland’s Dignity Not Detention Act.
The Department of Homeland Security blamed winter weather for severe overcrowding at a Baltimore immigration facility, but weather records and the video’s timeline contradict that explanation.
DHS Blames Weather for Baltimore ICE Overcrowding — The Timeline Doesn't Add Up
Federal officials cite storm that hadn't yet peaked when video was already online
open.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:02 PM
The Department of Homeland Security blamed winter weather for severe overcrowding at a Baltimore immigration facility, but weather records and the video’s timeline contradict that explanation.
The video, posted on Instagram by the user mikeyyanez and later shared on the ICE_Watch subreddit, shows at least 25 adults — most of them men — lying shoulder to shoulder on the floor of a white cinder-block room, supposedly in the Baltimore ICE detention facility.
Social Media Video Shows Apparent Overcrowding Inside Baltimore ICE Holding Room
Footage circulating online shows dozens of people lying on the floor at 31 Hopkins Plaza
substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 6:29 PM
The video, posted on Instagram by the user mikeyyanez and later shared on the ICE_Watch subreddit, shows at least 25 adults — most of them men — lying shoulder to shoulder on the floor of a white cinder-block room, supposedly in the Baltimore ICE detention facility.
Wicomico becomes the ninth Maryland county to sign a 287(g) agreement to allow its officers to support ICE.
Plus: ICE is looking for a company to manage its 287(g) outreach program.
Plus: ICE is looking for a company to manage its 287(g) outreach program.
Another MD county enacts 287(g) agreement while ICE continues its investment in the program
Wicomico County announces 287(g) immigration enforcement agreement. Plus: ICE issues RFI for 287(g) program implementation and outreach
open.substack.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Wicomico becomes the ninth Maryland county to sign a 287(g) agreement to allow its officers to support ICE.
Plus: ICE is looking for a company to manage its 287(g) outreach program.
Plus: ICE is looking for a company to manage its 287(g) outreach program.
Reposted by Project Salt Box
ICE agent asked why he's taking pictures of a legal observer's car, replies: "Cuz we have a nice little database and now you're considered a domestic terrorist. So have fun with that."
January 23, 2026 at 5:32 PM
ICE agent asked why he's taking pictures of a legal observer's car, replies: "Cuz we have a nice little database and now you're considered a domestic terrorist. So have fun with that."