Carroll County made national headlines in mid-July after a report that the federal government was eyeing a former Army Reserve Center in Westminster to house immigrant children caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
County, state and federal representatives quickly spoke out against using the federal building to house immigrant children, and graffiti that read "NO ILLEAGLES [sic] HERE NO UNDOCUMENTED DEMOCRATS" was painted on the side of the one-story brick building.
Maryland State Police said they would investigate the graffiti as a hate crime, but no one was charged. The graffiti was painted over less than 24 hours after the message was discovered.
Federal officials notified local leaders they would conduct a preliminary assessment of the vacant Army Reserve Center on July 10, and a day later, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners convened an emergency meeting and, along with Republican Congressman Andy Harris, pledged to resist efforts to use the site.
"Carroll County will not become a repository for Obama's failed immigration policies," said Commissioner Richard Rothschild, R-District 4.
He said the idea is "in no way, shape or form approved by the governing body of this county."
Harris, who represents portions of Carroll County, threatened to use his position on the House Appropriations Committee to hold up any effort to house immigrant children there.
Del. Justin Ready, R, who represents Carroll County in the state legislature, described the influx of children as "an indictment of President Obama's failure to take border security and illegal immigration seriously."
By July 12, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told local officials that the 3.8-acre lot and the vacant facility would not be used as a shelter for immigrant children.
State police began their investigation into the graffiti after it was discovered the morning of July 13.
News of the assessment came days after the White House asked Congress for $3.7 billion to respond to the surge of children coming across the border, a proposal that was met with skepticism on Capitol Hill.
Tens of thousands of children have crossed the border and have been detained by the Homeland Security Department, straining federal budgets and testing local governments in all sorts of ways, including having to face community backlash.
By law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services must care for the children until they can be placed with relatives or caretakers in the United States, but the pace of border crossings has strained the agency's ability to handle what the administration and others have described as a humanitarian crisis.
The U.S. Army Reserve Center is located at 404 Malcolm Drive in Westminster, about a quarter-mile from Md. 140. The 3.8-acre property has two brick structures on it, totaling 12,294 square feet, according to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation.
The property, which is owned by the United State Army Reserve of Carroll County, was last valued on July 1 at about $2.7 million, according to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. The reserve center is officially located within Carroll County government boundaries, not in the city of Westminster's.
Biggest stories of 2014
Through the end of the year, the Times will be unveiling its biggest news stories in Carroll County from the past year.
• Friday: Crime at McDaniel; proposal to house immigrant children
• Saturday:
• Sunday:
• Monday:
• Tuesday:
• Wednesday: