HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Protesters lined Washington Street in Hagerstown at 9am Tuesday morning for another consecutive week during Board of County Commissioners meetings. In opposition to ICE activity in the area, protests continue to draw dozens despite wintry conditions, however, a few protesters tried something new this time. Some protesters arrived at the Washington County Board of Commissioners extra early in hopes to greet commissioners as they entered the building. Employees entered, protesters shouted, though the commissioners did not pass by this area of the building while protesters were present.
“This is not the America I grew up knowing,” said one of the early protesters.
For the past several weeks, local political action groups have organized these protests pushing back on DHS plans to utilize a warehouse in Williamsport as an immigration detention facility. Many claim the facility is unethical and that county commissioners remain compliant with the plans. Despite protesters also sitting inside the commissioners meeting with signs, one outside demonstrator claimed, “They can hear us in there,” amidst car horns, chants, and singing just outside the building.
These events are organized by local groups such as Washington County Indivisible and Hagerstown Rapid Response. These organizations have been keeping close tabs on developments regarding the designated detention facility. Recent updates from Rapid Response and Project Salt Box claim the movement of dozens of potential immigration enforcement cars to the parking lot of the Williamsport warehouse. Rumors also swirled about ICE activity in the downtown areas of Hagerstown. However, the city expresses no knowledge of such activity.
For more events like this, keep up with Washington County Indivisible here, https://www.wcindivisible.com or Hagerstown Rapid Response on Facebook.
