What we know about the build-out of ICE’s Maryland detention center

For the private companies helping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement turn a massive Washington County warehouse into a detention center, this is a government project bigger than anything they’ve ever tackled.

A review of public contracting records by The Banner shows that one company involved is a new government contractor while another has more than a decade of experience supporting the Department of Defense. But neither has ever had a deal as massive, according to federal spending records.

On Friday, ICE gave a green light to KVG, a Gettysburg, Pennsylvania-based company with DoD contracts going back as far as 2013. The $113 million deal for the build-out of the 825,000-square-foot facility in Williamsport is, by far, the largest federal contract the company has ever received, according to USASpending.gov.

A representative from KVG could not be reached for comment.

Since 2013, KVG has received hundreds of Defense Department contracts totaling just over $144 million, primarily for logistics and operations support for the Army, Navy and Air Force around the world.

The work included leasing tactical vehicles in Ukraine in 2018, cutting down trees for munitions storage in Poland in 2021, and facilitating lodging and transportation services in Nigeria in 2023. Before winning the ICE contract in Maryland, their two largest contracts were $6.3 million in 2024 for logistics support for Air Force exercises in Japan and $5.2 million in 2023 for transportation services in Sudan.

KVG’s proposal for the renovation and “all necessary wraparound services for the operation of the facility” on the outskirts of Williamsport beat out three other bids, according to the contract award page. The contract contains potential future options to grow by more than five times, to as much as $642 million over the course of three years.

Another company, San Antonio, Texas-based Anovaeon, has recently begun advertising online job listings for administrative positions at the facility. The company was founded in 2024, positioning itself as a “humanitarian” and “disaster response” expert, according to its website and LinkedIn profile.

The positions listed by Anovaeon include $22-an-hour “case processing” jobs and $37 hourly supervisory positions. The focus of the positions would be documenting and maintaining information about migrants “in accordance with ICE procedures,” according to job listings posted on Indeed.com.

The company is also hiring a “human resources” manager and a director and deputy director of “processing operations” for the planned ICE facility, according to the job openings website. The responsibilities for the director and deputy director include overseeing case processing operations, as well as serving as liaisons between the private staffing company and ICE personnel.

Anovaeon did not respond to a request for comment on Monday. Public records indicate that the company does not have any history of contracting with the U.S. government. Anovaeon’s involvement in the Maryland facility was first reported by Project Salt Box.

The company’s president and CEO, Eric Fritz, wrote on his LinkedIn profile that he previously “led high stakes federal operations and contracting for one of the largest humanitarian response efforts in U.S. history.”

He also wrote that he “spearheaded the rapid stand-up of a 3,000 bed shelter for unaccompanied minors,” but did not elaborate about the details of the operation.

A timeline for opening ICE’s 1,500-person detention facility remains unclear, though federal records indicate that KVG’s contract runs through at least May 4.

The Washington Post earlier reported that the facility could be up and running as soon as April, according to unnamed sources. Internal ICE documents released last month by New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte show that the federal agency plans to open dozens of new facilities — many of which are warehouse conversions like in Williamsport — by Nov. 30. That facility could help ICE increase its capacity nationwide to nearly 93,000 beds in its effort to detain and deport more undocumented immigrants.

But Maryland officials are attempting to stymie that effort. Attorney General Anthony Brown sued the federal government last month over the warehouse conversion outside Hagerstown, alleging that officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency for ICE, acted in secret and failed to do sufficient analyses on the facility’s environmental impact.

The state legislature is also considering a bill that would prohibit operating a detention center in a building not originally designed for that purpose. The bill was a direct response to news of DHS’ purchase of the Williamsport facility, though it remains unclear whether the new law, if passed, would be able to halt ICE’s operations there.

Two other measures — one to tighten zoning regulations around privately run facilities and another to set minimum health and safety standards — have already passed the House of Delegates and are awaiting action by the Senate.

Banner reporter Sapna Bansil contributed to this story