My phone’s pinned messages: family, friends, and the SAM.gov authentication code I’ll need in 30 seconds.

Project Salt Box@projectsaltbox.com · 2w ago

I can’t say for sure, but it sure does seem like DHS has switched to posting all its big contracts after hours on Friday night. See: ERO ONE or yesterday’s massive detention space injection. I’d like to imagine it’s because ICE thinks we’ll miss it. But joke’s on them! We don’t have lives.

ICE just signed $7.3 billion in contracts to build detention space on land it owns, after its warehouse plan stalled. A $1.2 billion contract for a California site ICE left in 2014 went to a company tied to a developer facing more than a dozen lawsuits.

ICE signs contracts worth up to $7.3B to expand detention in 5 states

With its warehouse plan stalled, ICE is building on land it already owns, and one of the companies it hired is tied to a developer who worked on its earlier property deals.

projectsaltbox.com

Baltimore, one of our great civic orgs needs us. Asylee Women Enterprise, which helps asylum seekers, torture + trafficking survivors, and other forced migrants, rebuild their lives here, must rapidly leave their space of 10+ years. Please give to help them move to their own forever home in Hampden!

A Forever Home for Asylee Women Enterprise (AWE)

We’re asking people who believe in our mission to help us reach our goal and build a permanent home for AWE and the communities we serve.

givebutter.com

@ripest-plum.bsky.social and I researched and wrote a whopper of an article on HHS shopping for expanded migrant children housing space.

Project Salt Box@projectsaltbox.com · last mo.

According to the Trump Administration, border crossings are at historic lows. But ORR is still preparing to award a contract by Dec. 31 for facilities holding up to 3,000 unaccompanied children, with payments to contractors that continue whether or not children arrive.

Customs and Border Protection issued what appears to be the largest border wall construction award in its history to Fisher Sand & Gravel - a whopping $2.5 billion for the Big Bend Texas sector. The agency also awarded a $1.3 billion border wall contract to SLS Federal.

Follow the Money - June 2026: Warehouse Scheme Unravels While CBP Issues Historic Border Wall Award

Project Salt Box's monthly report on DHS procurement activities

open.substack.com

ICE agents shot and killed another person: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. He was an immigrant, and I hope his immigration status doesn’t stop the public from caring. I hope we don’t grow accustomed to these killings. I hope his family has the support they need to survive his death. I hope. I hope. I hope.

Watching the video, the officers at the end vocalize that not only are their body cams not on, they aren’t even wearing them. Awfully convenient, I’d say.

Project Salt Box@projectsaltbox.com · 4mo ago

The escalation of ICE tactics in Baltimore, including staging outside of schools and now apprehending people on school property, is wholly unacceptable. Our thoughts are with the people now in ICE custody, and the little ones who had to witness this disturbing incident.

The escalation of ICE tactics in Baltimore, including staging outside of schools and now apprehending people on school property, is wholly unacceptable. Our thoughts are with the people now in ICE custody, and the little ones who had to witness this disturbing incident.

ICE detains 2 people on public school grounds in Baltimore

ICE agents detained two adults on public school property Thursday in a chaotic scene caught on video.

thebanner.com

There remains no evidence that ICE required a Maryland county to sign an NDA prior to purchasing a warehouse there. With no shortage of real issues to scrutinize on the ICE detention front, this claim doesn't warrant further speculation.

Records, statements undercut claims that Washington County signed an NDA tied to ICE warehouse

A county attorney's letter identifies the agreement as a routine economic development matter. ICE said it never requested one.

projectsaltbox.com

Remember this story? The ICE official in question: David Venturella.

Project Salt Box@projectsaltbox.com · 5mo ago

Former GEO Group VP and Detention Reengineeeing Initiative point-man David Venturella appears set to take over as ICE chief following acting director Todd Lyons’ departure.

Stay safe, Baltimore. Multiple reports of ICE agents on Monroe and Liberty Heights in west Baltimore, on Park in midtown, and on Eastern Avenue between Highlandtown and Dundalk in east Baltimore. As always, you can make reports at the link below.

People Over Papers - Report ICE Activity

Report and track ICE activity in your community. A community-driven platform to document immigration enforcement.

iceout.org

ICE has been using a Navy logistics contract to outfit detention warehouses with minimal oversight. New documents show it may want its own construction contracting vehicle — one that's faster and less transparent. @em-knepp.bsky.social, @ripest-plum.bsky.social, and @mwriston.bsky.social report.

ICE Is Planning New Fast-Track Construction Contracts

An RFI released this morning details plans for a nationwide network of flexible construction contracts

projectsaltbox.com

This is the testimony our team will be submitting tomorrow in support of HB 630. We are providing this to other Marylanders to use for inspiration, or to model their own submissions on.

An open letter from the team at Project Salt Box in support of MD House Bill 630

The testimony we will be submitting tomorrow in support of this emergency measure

open.substack.com