Federal judge to decide if proposed Howard County ICE facility could get back on track
The company that tried to renovate an Elkridge, Maryland, office building into a U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) facility made its case in federal court Thursday.
Genesis GSA Strategic One LLC sued Howard County, claiming county leaders illegally revoked its permits for the building. Genesis is also arguing that the county is obstructing the federal government's authority.
The situation over this building resulted in a new law banning privately owned detention facilities in Howard County.
In Thursday's hearing, Genesis's lawyers argued for a preliminary injunction: to get the permits reissued and to declare the ban unconstitutional.
Lawyers for Howard County, meanwhile, are trying to get this case thrown out.
U.S. District Court Judge Adam Abelson said he'll try to decide on these motions as soon as he can, but didn't indicate when that could be.
The supremacy clause
Michael Edeny, the lawyer representing Genesis, focused his arguments on the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause.
This clause gives federal law precedence when it's in conflict with state or local law.
Citing that clause, he claims Howard County had no authority to revoke the permits it had for the Elkridge building, nor does the county have authority to block the federal government from doing one of its functions, which in this case is federal immigration enforcement.
Edeny described the financial hardship Genesis is going through over the situation, saying the company had spent a lot of money by the time permits were revoked.
"[If we knew this would happen] we wouldn't have been almost all the way through completion, we wouldn't have spent $21 million on building this building, and the interest wouldn't be running at $5,000 a day," Edeny said outside the federal courthouse. "But on the eve of finishing, to say this project needs to stop, it's kind of your problem, that's when the interest really racks up."
On the ban, Edeny argued it clearly targeted Genesis's efforts on the building. Noting the time from when the permits were revoked to the ban becoming law was only about a week.
Edeny went into detail about the plans for the building in court. He said it's meant to be a replacement for ICE's field office in Downtown Baltimore, and while it would have space for detention, it would only be around 4% of the building's total square footage.
The detainments would also be very temporary, would only be during the building's office hours, and no one would be detained overnight.
Edeny also talked about the politics of the situation, noting the process of turning the building into an ICE office started in 2022 during the Biden administration.
"I do understand immigration enforcement has become challenging," he said. "This is not the forefront of that fight."
Howard County's response
The lawyer representing Howard County maintained the county was only following a state statute.
David Moore, Senior Assistant County Solicitor, said the county has to abide by a statute that requires a 6-month notice and comment period for any building that will have immigration detention.
Moore also affirmed the county had no idea there would be a detention component in this building until around the time the permits were revoked.
Edeny refuted that, noting a county staff member was on a Zoom call with an ICE agent and others about the building. But Moore argued there isn't evidence proving the staff member knew.
Moore also pushed back against Edeny's assertion the county is blocking the federal government's ability to enforce federal immigration laws, as the ban doesn't bar the government from making a detention facility in the county.
"The plain reading of the statute doesn't apply to a government entity," Moore said.
In his questions, Abelson looked to solidify each side's arguments and firm up the timeline of events. At one point, he even said Edeny had a "strong case" on the unconstitutionality of Howard County's ban.
