Prince George's Residents Demand Action on Snow, ICE, Data Centers

Residents crowded a Prince George’s County town hall on Feb. 13 to press county leaders over lingering snow on neighborhood streets, an overwhelmed 311 system, and broader concerns about ICE activity and proposed data centers. The meeting came in the week after a major winter storm and focused on immediate operational failures and policy responses that could affect daily life in cul-de-sacs and narrow roads across the county.

Community testimony drove the opening hour. Euniesha Davis told county officials, “I ask that you prepare better, respond better, so we can give residents the best services.” An unnamed attendee said they could not visit their father because “my street wasn't plowed and it's still not plowed,” a concrete example residents used to demand faster clearing and clearer accountability. Several neighbors also arrived with proposals for tracking work completed by crews.

County leaders outlined operational steps taken after the storm. Officials said Braveboy deployed what she called a “strike force” on a Wednesday to blitz areas still blocked with snow, with a special focus on cul-de-sacs and some of the more narrow roads the county maintains. Braveboy told the forum, “We’ve seen on many streets, folks are parking on both sides of the street. That makes it very difficult for trucks to go down,” and asked residents to park on the even side of streets to let plows pass.

Operational constraints were cited in detail. Officials attributed slow progress in part to “2 to 4 inches of compacted ice” on many streets and noted the larger geographic size of Prince George’s County means more roads to plow. Braveboy said the response now hinges on “execution” and “continuing to add assets where we can,” and warned crews sometimes cannot reach streets because of cars parked in cul-de-sacs.

Residents also challenged transparency tools and customer service. In Fort Washington, attendees reported the county snowplow tracker showed recent plow activity where they say no plow had been, a claim county leaders insist did not occur. Multiple residents and council members described an overwhelmed 311 system and urged clearer communication; community members specifically asked for better notification when plows cannot access streets and for photographic verification of completed work.

The forum moved from operations to policy. Several people raised concerns about ICE activity; Councilman Wanika B. Fisher said unequivocally, “Prince George's County does not work with ICE. Full stop. Period.” Council members at the meeting said more protective legislation is coming. Data centers also drew sharp remarks: an unnamed community member urged a ban, saying “While the current moratorium is a step, I'd like the council to ban hyperscale data centers,” and Councilman Shayla Adams-Stafford said development firms “have not even applied for a permit because the voice of the community has been so loud. We have said we don't want them in residential areas.”

Officials promised follow up. County leaders acknowledged room for improvement and said they will produce an after-action report to evaluate what went well and what failed in the snow response. The Department of Public Works & Transportation asked residents to be patient, to send photos of problem areas, and said crews are trying to get to more roads as the storm finishes. Missing from the meeting were timelines: no release date for the after-action report, no bill numbers for proposed legislation, and no fuller identification or title supplied for Braveboy in the forum remarks. Those gaps frame the next beat for reporters and residents pressing for measurable accountability.