Maddi O’Neill

ICE sent Maryland detainees to Arizona a day before congressional oversight visit For months, the overcrowded, bleak conditions on the sixth floor of the George H. Fallon Federal Building have drawn attention from Maryland lawmakers, a federal judge and the state’s top prosecutor.

Baltimore ICE officials shipped dozens of detainees thousands of miles from their attorneys and families the day before a possible oversight visit from members of Congress.

My colleagues @maddioneill.bsky.social Danny Zawodny and I pieced together what happened.

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Maryland’s plans for a prerelease center for incarcerated women stalled. Why? Incarcerated women who are near the end of their sentences remain housed at the state women’s prison in Jessup, and advocates are pushing the state to open a facility to help these women prepare to re...

The law says the state must open a standalone facility for incarcerated women preoparing for release -- who advocates say lack the programs and opportunities men have.

So why has the project stalled for years?

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This is a good lesson for journalists: Use plain language to state true things clearly.

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The detainees from Baltimore were briefly held in Arizona before being split up and sent to detention centers across the country.

“All of us here are in God’s hands,” the detained man told us.

The next day, members of Congress arrived for an unannounced inspection and found the holding cells empty.

“This appears to be another instance in a persistent pattern of this Administration attempting to cover up their abuses and evade accountability,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Friday.

The man who was held in Baltimore this weekend said detainees were told “no one can be in here” as agents prepped them to leave the holding cells. On Sunday, at least 100 people were shackled and loaded into vans, then driven to an airport, he said.

We spoke with close to a dozen people familiar with the Baltimore ICE facility -- including a man detained there over the weekend, loved ones of detainees, immigration attorneys and congressional insiders -- to piece together what happened to the detainees who were there as of Sunday.

ICE sent Maryland detainees to Arizona before congressional oversight visit For months, the overcrowded, bleak conditions on the sixth floor of the George H. Fallon Federal Building have drawn attention from Maryland lawmakers, a federal judge and the state’s top prosecutor.

What a surprise thebanner.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?...

ICE sent Maryland detainees to Arizona before congressional oversight visit For months, the overcrowded, bleak conditions on the sixth floor of the George H. Fallon Federal Building have drawn attention from Maryland lawmakers, a federal judge and the state’s top prosecutor.

What did ICE do with the detainees they were holding at the Baltimore field office?

Lawmakers found the cells empty on Monday during an oversight visit. The cells were packed with people just one day before.

W/ @maddioneill.bsky.social & Danny Zawodny

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ICE sent Maryland detainees to Arizona before congressional oversight visit For months, the overcrowded, bleak conditions on the sixth floor of the George H. Fallon Federal Building have drawn attention from Maryland lawmakers, a federal judge and the state’s top prosecutor.

NEW: When Maryland's congressional delegation visited ICE's overcrowded holding rooms in downtown Baltimore Monday, they found the place unexpectedly empty.

What happened to all the people being held there? We figured it out.

Story for @thebaltimorebanner.com: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Maryland budget moves forward with cuts to disability programs It’s part of a plan to close a $1.4 billion shortfall by taking money from other state accounts, freezing spending and making cuts.

Maryland's state budget for next year is moving forward -- and there are still significant cuts to programs for people with developmental disabilities. A Senate leader said the cuts are “the least bad of all the choices.”

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His brother died in a storm drain. Now he’s fighting to make them safer. Clay Kearns and his mother, Erica, want lawmakers to require local governments to address safety issues.

New story: In July, an open storm drain swallowed up 13-year-old Mason Kearns during flash flooding in Mount Airy. Still grieving months later, his family is advocating to make these drains safer. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Judge orders 14-day halt to work at Washington County ICE facility DHS purchased the warehouse in January and recently awarded a $113 million contract to turn the commercial space into a detention center.

A federal judge ordered a 14-day halt to construction at a Washington County warehouse that ICE plans to convert into an immigration detention center. The judge said the broader legal challenge filed by Maryland's AG Brown could succeed on the merits.

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Maryland AG asks court to halt work on immigration detention center Attorney General Anthony Brown is asking a court to stop work at a Washington County immigration detention center until a separate legal challenge is decided in court.

Maryland AG Anthony Brown asked a court to pause the build-out of a Western Maryland warehouse into an immigration detention center while his lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security plays out in court.

The latest from @brendawintrode.bsky.social:

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No detainees held at Baltimore detention center during congressional visit The visit follows a federal judge’s Friday order to limit the number of detainees in the Baltimore facility to 56 across all five holding rooms.

The hold rooms at Baltimore's ICE field office are empty, according to Maryland Congress members who toured the facility Monday.

Their visit comes days after a federal judge imposed a limit on the number of people that could be held there.

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Maryland agencies warn planned Hagerstown-area ICE facility could strain sewers, traffic Three of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s cabinet secretaries wrote they have “serious concerns that ICE is proceeding with this project in a secreteve and rushed manner” that will have negative effects on t...

In a lengthy letter to the feds, three of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's cabinet secretaries raise concerns about the Washington County warehouse that the feds bought to turn into an immigration detention facility.

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Youth charging reform is finally moving in Maryland, but not everyone is happy The Maryland Senate’s version of the bill would shorten the list of charges that automatically land teens in adult court but not by as many offenses as advocates wanted.

New story for @thebaltimorebanner.com: Youth charging reform is finally gaining traction in Maryland after more than a decade of advocacy. But after some significant compromises, not everyone is happy about it. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Exclusive: It’s bots vs. reporters at the AP The tensions inside the wire service reveal a broader conflict playing out across the media over how AI should be applied within journalism.

"Another staffer said it is 'hard not to escape the feeling that the people hyping/guiding the decisions around these powerful tools exist in a totally different reality than the people who wake up every day and do the work of reporting.'"

Feds considered 3 Baltimore-area sites for immigration detention The agency concluded that the three Baltimore-area sites “presented greater limitations related to site control, security, operational suitability, and potential community impacts.”

NEW: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security -- which is currently moving forward with an immigration detention facility near Hagerstown -- also evaluated three warehouses in the Baltimore region.

From @maddioneill.bsky.social, @brendawintrode.bsky.social & me:

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Feds considered 3 Baltimore-area sites for immigration detention The agency concluded that the three Baltimore-area sites “presented greater limitations related to site control, security, operational suitability, and potential community impacts.”

NEW from me, @brendawintrode.bsky.social & @pwoodreporter.bsky.social: The feds considered three sites in the Baltimore area for possible ICE detention facilities before landing on a warehouse near Hagerstown. See where: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

New from me:

Baltimore! I’m introducing HOUSE at the Maryland Film Festival on April 10 along with a brand new short documentary about the film from @bsoderberg.bsky.social and me.

Tickets on sale SOON!

Did you look up your senator? Did their answer surprise you? Drop me a message. DMs open. Email brenda.wintrode@thebanner.com

Here’s where all 47 Maryland senators stand on redistricting Enough senators oppose redistricting that supporters can not get the 29 votes they need to approve new congressional maps, according to a Banner survey of all 47 senators.

NEW in @thebaltimorebanner.com: Maryland redistricting = not happening. @brendawintrode.bsky.social & @maddioneill.bsky.social have the receipts.
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We asked all 47 Maryland state senators where they stand on redistricting. You can look up their answers by county. w/ @maddioneill.bsky.social

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Maryland sues to block planned Washington County ICE detention center The suit asks a federal judge to void the Department of Homeland Security’s purchase of a warehouse and block any further development of the property.

Maryland is suing the Department of Homeland Security to block a planned ICE detention center in Washington County, saying the federal government failed to do a required environmental impact study and public health concerns.

w/ @maddioneill.bsky.social

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House Minority Leader Jeffries meets with Ferguson as redistricting pressure builds As he walked into the State House, Jeffries said he would “in all likelihood” discuss redistricting with Gov. Wes Moore.

They met. They talked. They didn't change their minds.

Here's what we know happened during the redistricting summit between Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Maryland Senate Pres. Bill Ferguson today in Annapolis.

By @maddioneill.bsky.social & me
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