We’ve had a few people reach out asking what the “salt box” in PROJECT SALT BOX means. Let me let you in on the very Baltimore lore behind our name. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimo...

BYHALIA, MS ICE WAREHOUSE CANCELED!! This denies ICE 798K sq ft of detention space and 8,500 beds. It prevents an estimated $650M/year operating cost at tax payer expense.

MN ICE WAREHOUSE CANCELED! bringmethenews.com/minnesota-ne...

New reporting: A single 1,500-bed ICE detention facility like the one in Hagerstown would cost ~$300K/day, $110M/year. And that's the low estimate. I contractor I spoke with says difficult sites — where locals cause trouble — "will easily be double or more of that cost."

A 25-yr procurement pro says the massive ICE detention expansion is "doomed to failure." $100k spending bottlenecks Immigration detention via Navy loopholes Warehouses with no water Inside the $55B plan where career staff say "cruelty is the policy."

Shortly after we posted this story, the solicitation for Project Homecoming support was pulled from SAM.gov. Thankfully, we archived a version of the solicitation and uploaded it to this article.

Continuing to watch USCIS’ partnership with Palantir — especially w/r/t their $200K purchase of VOWS, “Vetting of Wedding Based Schemes” platform. Not much is known about the tool, except that it gives the citizenship service AI-powered tools to potentially assess marriage fraud.

Can now confirm that the warehouse in Social Circle, GA is in escrow and nearing final sale. The transaction will remove an estimated $30K from the Georgia and Walton County tax stream. The sale also gives ICE another 8,500 beds. The selling owner is the PNK S1, LLC of Atlanta, GA.

DHS could be scaling its "Project Homecoming" self-deportation pipeline. Big RFP coming soon — this will tell us if ICE is expanding the “self deportation” system or just swapping contractors. Keep your eyes on this.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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

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.”

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

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?

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!

@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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

What's new in version 1.3? All new ways to track DHS spending in your city and beyond: 📊 Now includes solicitations and future forecasts 💲 More detailed spending info 🔗 TinyURL address for easier sharing 🌐 Public for anyone, even without a Google Account tinyurl.com/DHScontracts...

Conservative influencers Ben Bergquam, Josh Fulfer, and Nick Shirley were spotted in Charm City this week confronting residents at a public library and a local church. Community groups are warning residents to avoid engagement as local tensions rise over immigration enforcement.

We analyzed DHS procurement records and found plans for a major DHS enforcement expansion in Washington State: a $100M+ detention facility with 1,635 beds, border armories, mobile forensics labs, and Cellebrite phone-cracking tech. projectsaltbox.substack.com/p/homeland-s...

Good morning, Baltimore (and beyond)! Proud to roll out our data exploration tool. This interactive visualizer lets you see how—and where—DHS is spending its $190B+ budget.