Project Salt Box

@projectsaltbox.com

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Public records enthusiasts. Tracking the flow of post-OBBBA homeland security procurements and government contracts. https://www.projectsaltbox.com/ Proudly based in Baltimore, MD. ⚫️🟡🦀🔴⚪️ Track ICE warehouses: https://tracker.projectsaltbox.com

Badge reading "Baltimore Magazine's Best of Baltimore 2026," with a stylized "B" logo at top and three stars below.
A screenshot of a contract award order to the GEO Group, showing a total contract value of $528,678,643.44. The document was signed July 9, 2026.
Screenshot of the ICE FOIA SecureRelease portal showing the read-only details page for request number 2026-ICFO-31191. Navigation tabs at the top read Details, Contact Information, Documents, Messages, and Appeal, with a red Cancel button at right. The Request Description asks for copies of all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) records prepared, received, completed, or dated on or after July 1, 2025, relating to listed detention facilities, including Records of Environmental Consideration, categorical exclusion determinations, environmental assessments, findings of no significant impact, environmental impact statements, notices of intent and availability, scoping materials, and correspondence between ICE and third-party environmental firms, under DHS Directive 023-01. The request lists facility addresses in Tacoma WA, Adelanto CA, California City CA, San Diego CA, Conroe TX, Jena LA, Aurora CO, Leavenworth KS, and Hammond LA, along with alternate facility names such as Northwest ICE Processing Center, Otay Mesa Detention Center, Montgomery Processing Center, and Winn Processing Center. The Agency field shows Department of Homeland Security and the Component field shows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Court filing excerpt, lines 9–23, with lines 9–10 highlighted in yellow. The highlighted text reads: "On June 19, 2026, Plaintiffs learned of partially redacted GSA documents that a government transparency group obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and then published." The remaining text describes the documents (Murillo Decl. Exs. T–V). They include a GSA "NEPA Memo to File" identifying the Holsclaw Property lease by number, which describes the action as a "20 years/15 years firm New/Replacing Lease (relocation from existing building)" and claims it qualifies for a NEPA categorical exclusion covering acquisition of space within an existing structure "where no change in the general type of use and only minimal change from previous occupancy level is proposed." The filing notes this was the first time Plaintiffs learned Defendants were claiming a NEPA categorical exclusion. The documents also include an undated GSA "Floodplain Memorandum" identifying the project by GSA solicitation number, which admits the action is located "in the 100-year floodplain" while alleging "there are no practicable alternatives." The excerpt concludes that, based on the gathered information, it appears Defendants are developing the Holsclaw Property at least in part into an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) holding facility.
A screenshot of a redacted official document from the U.S. General Services Administration, titled "Justification for No Practicable Alternatives" for GSA Project Number 8CA3614. Heavy black redaction boxes labeled with FOIA exemption code "(b)(7)(F)" cover the agency name and specific addresses. The legible text states that the agency currently occupies 10,033 square feet of office space under GSA Lease Number GS-09P-LCA03304, which expires on 8/31/2026. It notes a formal request for a larger space of approximately 17,000 square feet, requiring 60 surface or reserved parking spaces, contiguous space, and ground floor space only.
Screenshot of a text excerpt labeled “DHS Spox,” showing a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson’s response. The statement says DHS is reviewing agency policies and wants to “work with community leaders” and “be good partners.” It then attacks critics, saying the issue “isn’t about the environment” but about stopping President Trump from “making America safe again,” and claims critics want undocumented immigrants “to stay forever and vote here.” The final paragraph says ICE evaluated existing facilities before purchase to minimize environmental impacts to protected species, natural resources and cultural resources.
Contract Summary table of ICE transactions for the Delaney Hall detention services award, listing spending by object class: Operation and maintenance of facilities (25.4) $4,448,574; Operation and maintenance of facilities (25.4) $5,625,200; Medical care (25.6) $822,109; Travel and transportation of persons (21.0) $10,000; Operation and maintenance of facilities (25.4) $9,606,100.
Screenshot of an "Awardee Information" section from a federal contract record. Entity Name: BI2 TECHNOLOGIES, LLC. CAGE Code: 7VJ93. Unique Entity ID (UEI): MLM7BJXXQXA9. Doing Business As: blank. Ultimate Parent Entity Name: BI2 TECHNOLOGIES LLC. Ultimate Parent Unique Entity ID (UEI): MLM7BJXXQXA9.
Screenshot of text reading: 'THIS TASK ORDER IS FOR THE RENOVATION OF EXISTING, ICE-OWNED PERMANENT STRUCTURE IN HAGERSTOWN, MD. THIS MODIFICATION PARTIALLY LIFTS THE STOP WORK ORDER.'
The screenshot shows a job posting webpage branded with the Stevenage Football Club logo at the top left. The posting advertises an “Immigration-Appellate Attorney” position in Cockeysville, Maryland, posted May 11, 2026. The description states the role is with ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), described as the largest legal program within DHS. Highlighted text near the bottom oddly references “Stevenage fans” and job opportunities in the “Stevenage area,” despite the listed job location being in Maryland. Large gray “Apply for this job now” buttons appear above and below the posting text.
Screenshot of a SAM.gov solicitation that describes the Secret Service's needs for golf carts, utility vehicles, and a mini-ambulance for use on golf course grounds in Bedminster, NJ. A table of figures shows that the USSS requests 29 2-passenger golf carts; 8 4-passenger golf carts; 6 Carryall 700 utility vehicles; and 1 first responder mini ambulance.
Screen capture of a federal spending database table showing three USCIS task orders awarded to Palantir Technologies for the “Vetting of Wedding-Based Schemes” (VOWS) platform. The table includes columns for Prime Award ID, Obligations, Outlays, and Award Description. The first entry, award 70SBUR26F00000003, obligated about $100,000 and states: “THE PURPOSE OF THIS TASK ORDER IS TO IMPLEMENT PHASE 0 OF THE VETTING OF WEDDING-BASED SCHEMES (VOWS) PLATFORM.” The second entry, award 70SBUR26F00000055, obligated $99,500 and describes a “FOLLOW-ON PHASE 2 VOWS TASK ORDER” intended to help USCIS implement the platform and transition to a “PROACTIVE, TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN” approach. The third entry, award 70SBUR26F00000026, also obligated $99,500 and contains nearly identical language for “FOLLOW-ON PHASE 1” implementation of the VOWS platform.
Map titled “ICE Warehouse Acquisitions” showing warehouses ICE has purchased as part of its detention expansion plan across the United States. Squares are color-coded by status and scaled by proposed detention bed capacity. Teal squares indicate purchased sites, mustard yellow indicates sites in litigation, and muted red indicates paused projects. Larger squares represent higher proposed bed counts, with a legend ranging from roughly 900 to 9,000 beds. The map shows sites concentrated in the Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast. Large purchased sites appear in Utah, Texas, Georgia, and Pennsylvania/New Jersey. Litigation sites appear in Arizona and Michigan. Paused sites appear in Maryland and New Jersey/Pennsylvania. The largest proposed facilities are located in the Northeast and Southeast clusters. Source noted as Project Salt Box ICE Warehouse Tracker.
A large network diagram maps data flows and surveillance capabilities connected to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. At the top is DHS, branching into ICE, Customs and Border Protection, TSA, and USCIS. ICE further divides into Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations. The chart shows multiple government databases and data streams feeding into immigration enforcement systems. Inputs include detainee telephone services, border intelligence analytics, encounter and removal records, traveler and vehicle imagery, passenger reservation data, checkpoint screening and watchlists, visa and immigration paperwork, DMV records, CODIS DNA data, NCIC and NICS law enforcement databases, and license plate readers. Many of these feed into central databases labeled “IDENT/HART, TECS, EID” and “ImmigrationOS + ICM,” the latter associated with Palantir. A central node labeled “ICE HSI Raven” connects to commercial surveillance and data analysis tools. Vendors and tools shown include Graphite Spyware, Cobwebs & Tangles, Mobile Fortify, Skip Tracing, Clearview AI, and facial biometrics systems. Companies named in gray labels include Palantir, Clearview AI Inc., Paragon Solutions, Global Recovery Group LLC, Penlink Ltd., CORSIGHT, and SOSi International LLC. Arrows indicate information sharing between DHS agencies, state and local law enforcement, private surveillance vendors, and ICE field agents at the bottom of the chart. Dashed arrows represent indirect or aggregated data flows. A callout box near the detainee telephone service node references a “10,000 sq ft” technology delegation and event hosting space, proximity to AI model and application companies, 30 permanently assigned agents, and a SAM.gov solicitation number.
A red and white flyer titled "Show up at the courthouse!" A call to action says to "Join the City of Romulus and State of Michigan in saying NO to ICE cages in our community." An address for the Theodore Levin courthouse is provided as 231 West Lafayette Boulevard, Detroit, Michigan, 48226. The time to arrive is 9:30 AM outside the courthouse, with a peaceful and lawful witnessing of the hearing at 10:30 AM in courtroom 250.
Screenshot of a federal court filing in Maryland v. Mullin. The highlighted passage states that ICE is continuing to comply with the court’s preliminary injunction at the Williamsport warehouse site and notes that “a plumber was called in to fix a clogged toilet.” The document is dated May 6, 2026.
Screenshot of a text excerpt explaining ICE’s “Breached Bond Detention Fund,” or BBDF. The passage states that money collected from breached immigration bonds is deposited into the BBDF by statute. It says ICE may use the fund to pay for detention bed space and costs associated with collecting unpaid bond amounts. The excerpt also argues that properly administered bonds encourage immigrants to surrender to ICE custody, leave the United States on time, or comply with supervision orders.
The graphic shows an annotated OMB apportionment document for the “Breached Bond Detention Fund,” an ICE detention-related account. A headline at the top reads: “OMB Shifts Detention Fund Spending Earlier in FY2026.” A short description explains that OMB moved more funding into the third quarter while reducing expected carryover and fourth-quarter authority, without increasing the total account size. The document compares two iterations of the account: Iteration 2 from March 3, 2026 and Iteration 3 from April 30, 2026. Colored annotations highlight three key changes in the lower section of the table. A green box and arrow point to the third-quarter line item, where available authority increased by about $26.8 million, from roughly $6.8 million to $33.5 million. A red box and arrow point to the fourth-quarter line item, where authority decreased by about $6.8 million, falling to zero. Another red annotation highlights the “Anticipated Carryover” line, where projected unused funds decreased by $20 million, from about $55.3 million to $35.3 million. The total budgetary resources line remains unchanged at about $90.3 million in both iterations.
Screenshot of a map of Colorado. Two purple circles indicate potential ICE prison re-openings; one is in Hudson and the other is in Walsenberg.
Screenshot of an ICE email which reads: "“ICE purchased a facility in Hagerstown, Maryland. These are not warehouses — they will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. Sites will undergo community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase. The Hagerstown, Maryland, facility and its construction are expected to bring 1,125 jobs to the area and would contribute $120.6 million in GDP. It’s also projected to bring in about $28.8 million in tax revenue."
Screenshot of an email dated Tuesday, May 5, 2026, from Gabrielle Fernandez at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, subject line 'ICE Baltimore Processing Facility.' The email is addressed to consulting parties and provides an update on the proposed ICE detention center at 10900 Hopewell Road in Hagerstown, Maryland. It states that ICE has received a request for additional information from one tribe, that ICE is awaiting final design from its contractor regarding ground disturbance, and that ICE has determined the project warrants the development of an Environmental Assessment under NEPA. The email is cut off at the bottom of page 2. A yellow warning banner notes the message originated from an external source.
Line chart titled “FY2026 287(g) Law Enforcement Salary Reimbursement Apportionments.” The chart shows cumulative federal funding released for ICE’s 287(g) salary reimbursement program between October 2025 and April 2026. Funding begins at about $158 million in October 2025, rises to roughly $288 million by late October, increases again to about $415 million in January 2026, then jumps sharply in late March and April before reaching approximately $1 billion by mid-April 2026. The line is mostly flat between increases, creating a stair-step pattern that reflects new funding approvals over time.
Alt text: Map of the United States titled “Proposed Turnkey Detention Centers,” showing yellow dots marking the locations of proposed ICE detention center acquisitions. Dots appear in Washington state; three in California; one in Colorado; one in Texas; and three clustered in Louisiana. The map indicates a concentration of proposed sites in the West and Gulf Coast regions.
Text order from Judge Semper denying plaintiff’s request to delose two ICE employees.
Screenshot of Section 90003, “Detention Capacity,” from a bill. The section says $45 billion is appropriated to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for fiscal year 2025, to remain available until Sept. 30, 2029, for single adult alien detention capacity and family residential center capacity. It also says detention at family residential centers may continue while removal decisions are pending and, if removal is ordered, until removal occurs.
Screenshot of the "About This Project" page from Project Salt Box's Data Studio report. The page has a dark background with white body text and red section headers. Sections include: About This Project, describing the tracking of ICE detention facility acquisitions; Contributors, identifying Project Salt Box as a volunteer-driven research group based in Baltimore, MD; Data Sources, explaining the use of land records, FOIA libraries, permit filings, and tips; subsections on How We Find Properties and How Our Sources Connect to Specific Claims; On Our Independence, stating the project takes no funding from outside organizations and that methodology and sources are public; and Estimates Caveat, noting that cost and impact figures are estimates built from federal standards and county records.
A map of the US containing numerous white circles of various sizes, indicating the location and capacity of existing ICE detention centers.
A dark map of the United States showing two pale blue circles. One is over Surprise, Arizona. The other is over Williamsport, Maryland. These circles represent "paused" detention warehouses in ICE's detention reengineering initiative.
A screenshot of a stop work order on GardaWorld’s $313 million contract to convert a warehouse in Surprise, AZ into a detention camp.
Screenshot of an email from Washington County, Maryland Economic Development Director Jonathan Horowitz to ICE officials. In the email, Horowitz thanks ICE for its “investment” in the county following the purchase of the Williamsport warehouse and asks whether the facility’s build-out will be a prevailing wage project. He says the county hopes any required apprenticeship contributions could be directed to local trades education programs and the local community college. The email frames the detention warehouse project as a potential source of local workforce funding.
A data cell showing a monthly increase of +$363,463,373 in amber text, with a cumulative total of $1,048,966,405 below it in dark text.
A screenshot of the Project Salt Box ICE Warehouse Litigation tracker, which contains descriptions of dockets and filings for various State's ongoing litigation against DHS.
Screenshot of an OpenOMB.org apportionment table showing ICE Office of Refugee Resettlement receiving a $31 million increase since last month.
Screenshot of a court filing titled “Plaintiffs’ Brief in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion to File Corrected Brief Over Page Limits.” The text argues that defendants failed to follow court procedural rules by submitting an overlong brief with an improper font size before seeking permission. It states that defendants are now asking the court to excuse those violations and contends the court should not forgive these procedural failures, comparing them to earlier failures related to the Romulus warehouse purchase.
Many sea lions sleeping on top of one another on a beach in Monterey, CA.
A screenshot of an approval sheet for a NEPA review bearing three signatures for ICE approvers. The timestamps show the document was approved just hours after AG Dana Nessel announced the suit in partnership with City of Romulus officials for, in part, an alleged failure by ICE to follow environmental protection standards and procedures.
Screenshot of a record of environmental review project approval showing multiple ICE parties approving the project to convert a warehouse into a detention jail, all on 3/24.
A dropdown menu presenting options for different ICE detention data-points to overlay on a map visualizer.
Column titled “Est. Payment In Lieu of Taxes ($/yr)” showing annual amounts per site, including approximately $1.1M, $6.21M, $5.48M, and $365K, with several values repeated across rows.
Screenshot of text from The Technological Republic by Alex Karp and Nicholas Zamiska. Point 6, highlighted in blue, reads: "National service should be a universal duty. We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost." Also visible: Point 4 on hard power being built on software, Point 5 arguing AI weapons will be built regardless and the question is only who builds them, and Point 7 on building better weapons for U.S. Marines.
A Google error message prompting users to authorize a Data Studio API.
A heavily redacted document describing ICE’s requirements for digital forensic and encrypted device exploitation tools.
Here, ICE - claims that the conversion from a mega warehouse into a massive detention complex for human habitation is not such a massive undertaking that it will require large changes to its original configuration.
A court filing document.
A timeline of dates showing when an environmental review for an ICE Warehouse was started, prepared, and closed. All dates reflect January 15, 2026.
A bar chart titled "Recent Market Valuations vs. 2026 ICE Acquisition Prices" compares the previous value of 11 properties to their ICE purchase prices in USD. White bars represent previous values, and gold bars represent ICE purchase prices. In every case, the ICE price is significantly higher. For example, a property in Flowery Branch, GA, jumped from $400K to $68M, and Socorro, TX, rose from $11.07M to $123M. The highest acquisition is Salt Lake City, UT, at $145.44M, up from $97.37M.
Screenshot of text: Touhy regulations—named after United States ex rel. Touhy v. Ragen, 340 U.S. 462 (1951)—are “[h]ousekeeping regulations that create agency procedures for responding to subpoenas.” COMSAT Corp. v. NSF, 190 F.3d 269, 272 n.3 (4th Cir. 1999). DHS has promulgated Touhy regulations at 6 C.F.R. §§ 5.41–5.49, which apply to ICE because ICE is a “component of [DHS].” See 6 C.F.R. § 5.41(b); 8 C.F.R. § 100.1; City of Pembroke Pines v. U.S. Immigr. & Customs Enf’t, 141 F. Supp. 3d 1330, 1333 (S.D. Fla. 2015). DHS’s regulations establish procedures to be followed with respect to certain requests for document production, including those issued “pursuant to . . . applicable state rules.” 6 C.F.R. § 5.41(a)(2).
Screenshot of a legal memorandum for summary judgement from the plaintiff -- the State of Maryland -- against Todd M. Lyons, acting deputy director of ICE.
A screenshot of the Project Salt Box "ICE Facilities of Interest" data dashboard, which uses a dark-themed map of the United States to track the status and capacity of various warehouse projects. The dashboard identifies four primary categories of facility status through a color-coded system and summary cards. These include thirteen canceled warehouses marked in green, ten warehouses bought by ICE marked in red, five prospective warehouses marked in yellow, and one paused warehouse marked in light blue. The map populates these facilities using circular markers where the size of the circle indicates the number of beds, ranging from five hundred to fifteen thousand. The geographic distribution shows several distinct patterns of activity. Green markers representing canceled sales are most prominent in the Midwest and South, with the largest circles located in Missouri and Illinois, and additional sites in Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Red markers indicating purchased facilities are concentrated heavily along the Northeast corridor, specifically in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area, as well as in West Texas and New Mexico. The western United States features orange markers in Washington, Utah, and Arizona, representing facilities where conversion to an ICE facility is currently in progress. Yellow markers for prospective sites are located in Florida and along the Gulf Coast near the Mississippi and Louisiana border. A single light blue marker signifies a site under a temporary restraining order in the Mid-Atlantic region near Philadelphia. The map provides a clear visual overview of regional facility acquisitions and project statuses across the country as of early 2026.
A black and white graphic describing the sale of a shipping warehouse to the Choctaw Nation of OK.
Screenshot of a paragraph in an op-ed that reads: “There may be a strategic reason for that. Attorney General Kris Mayes has said she is weighing a public nuisance claim under state law — a theory that would keep the case in state court and away from a federal judiciary that, in Arizona, may feel less hospitable than the bench that handed Maryland its win. The instinct is not unreasonable, and the underlying argument is legitimate: the Surprise facility would strain local infrastructure, alter surrounding neighborhoods, and impose costs on a community that had no say in the decision.”
Table titled "Total Financial Impact of Federal Warehouse Acquisitions" showing 9 locations (Georgia, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Utah). It tracks massive markups: Flowery Branch, GA shows a 16,900% markup ($400K valuation to $68M ICE purchase price). Salt Lake City, UT shows the highest purchase price at $145.44M. The data includes valuation years, last valuation, purchase price, markup percentage, estimated local tax loss, and estimated annual operation costs.
Table titled "Modification Summary" showing two contract results for detention, transportation, and medical services at the Otay Mesa Detention Facility in California. The first row, Mod Number P00001, is a "Funding Only Action" signed March 19, 2026, for an obligation of $12,128,942.69. The second row, Mod Number 0, was signed January 23, 2026, for an obligation of $22,222,206.95.
Map titled "ICE Facilities of Interest" in the US. Bubbles, sized by 500-15,000 beds, show statuses. Side panel lists totals: Warehouse Canceled (12), Prospective Warehouses (6), Warehouses Bought (10), Warehouses Paused (1). Large bubbles are in Texas, Missouri, and Utah. The map uses statuses like Sale Canceled (green), Prospective Site (yellow), Bought by ICE (red), Temporary Restraining Order (light blue), and Conversion in Progress (orange).
Screenshot of a government contract award to GEO Group for armed guard and transport services at Delaney Hall in Newark, NJ.