Many, if not all, ICE detention centers have horrific conditions; these conditions, along with the reported sexual and physical abuse, have caused numerous deaths of people who have been detained. Food rations, basic hygiene supplies, and medical care are scarce at these facilities. These conditions are unsanitary and inhuman; there have been countless reports from facilities across the country not meeting basic human necessities, and reports of physical violence and sexual abuse. As of 2025, there were 32 deaths of immigrants in ICE custody, triple the number from 2024, and that is only the deaths that have been reported.

And their efforts are only increasing. The federal government has broadened ICE officers’ authority and has set aggressive daily targets for apprehensions. To meet their quotas, agents can raid schools, courthouses, and even churches. They have also lowered hiring and training standards, immensely expanding ICE ranks.

But the worst bit of it all is that for all their efforts, they are not even accomplishing what they set out to do. The Trump administration claims they are targeting criminals, but one-third of those arrested do not have a criminal record.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded a $641 million contract to KVG LLC, a defense contractor, to build an ICE detention facility in Hagerstown, Maryland. The facility is intended to accommodate as many as 1,500 detainees. But KVG, as is customary with ICE facilities, is doing less than the bare minimum to construct it. Maryland Attorney General Brown, himself, has said, "How do you outfit a warehouse, 105,000 square feet, that only has four toilets and two water fountains, yet in some time the Homeland Security wants to house 1,500 detainees? Think about the water and sewer impacts." Not only that, but the ethical impacts are catastrophic as well. Attorney General Brown has filed a lawsuit against them that has temporarily put a stop to construction, he has also said, “If the court does ultimately allow them to move forward, we are going to be asking that every single requirement for fire, codes, water and sewer, for other public health issues, environment issues, are met, that they meet the standards to ensure that it's a safely run facility."

But even if it is "a safely run facility", it will still be an ICE facility. And if what we've seen in the past is any indication, it will be detaining dozens of legal, law-abiding citizens, and almost half of its detainees will have no criminal record whatsoever.

Sign this petition, share it with everyone you know, and help the adolescents of Maryland put a stop to the horrible, unethical, and illegal actions of ICE, so that we can all feel safe in our own communities.