HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Job postings for employment with ICE at a planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility are already popping up in the Hagerstown area, and in response, two grassroots groups have mobilized to pressure major job sites to stop hosting the recruitment ads.
Job postings have surfaced on Indeed.com from staffing agency Anovaeon LLC, seeking workers for roles at what the listings call an ICE processing facility in Williamsport. Positions include case processing aides, specialists and supervisors.
One ad for a case processing aide offers $22 per hour and requires workers to respond quickly to emergency situations throughout the facility, often during 12-hour shifts that may include overnights, evenings, weekends and holidays.
“If tech companies can filter out scam postings and offensive content, they can certainly choose not to promote jobs at a detention site that tramples local zoning rules, environmental law and basic human dignity,” Blaire Postman, founder of Cat Ladies for America, one of the groups, said.
Claire Connor, an organizer with Hagerstown Rapid Response, the second group, said the Hagerstown community is being “asked to sacrifice our water, sewage capacity and our values so ICE can turn an industrial warehouse into a high-density cage.”
“This ICE warehouse is not an abstract policy debate,” added Heather Tapley, with the same organization. “It’s a concrete threat to our neighborhoods, our infrastructure and the people who live here in Washington County.”
The campaign raises broader questions about whether major technology platforms should profit from helping staff immigrant detention operations that communities across the country are actively resisting, Patrick Dattilio, founder of Hagerstown Rapid Response, said.
“We welcome organizations across the country to join this campaign and stand with us in saying our communities will not be complicit in expanding this detention system.”
The two groups launched an online petition this week calling on platforms like Indeed, Glassdoor and ZipRecruiter to refuse listings tied to ICE detention facilities, especially contested ones like the 825,000-square-foot warehouse DHS purchased in January for $102.4 million. Organizers point to the ads as proof that federal plans are advancing despite strong local pushback.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has filed a lawsuit to block the project, alleging violations of state immigration detention laws, inadequate environmental reviews and public input, and unsuitable infrastructure – including just four toilets for up to 1,500 people. State officials have voiced concerns about impacts on local sewers, traffic and the environment.
The Washington County NAACP and residents have protested over civil rights issues, transparency and the shift of a commercial site into a regional detention hub. Washington County commissioners endorsed the project earlier, but opponents continue calling for open forums and accountability.
The petition is available at actionnetwork.org (or linked through related Change.org efforts), and organizers urge residents in Washington County, southern Pennsylvania and nationwide to sign and share it to help halt the facility. Recent developments include a $113 million contract awarded to a Pennsylvania firm for renovations, further fueling community alarm.
