Maryland A.G. files emergency motion to pause work on ICE detention facility

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is asking a federal court to immediately stop any construction or renovation of a warehouse that is being converted into an immigration detention facility near Hagerstown, Maryland.

The emergency motion asks the court to pause work on the building for up to 14 days until a separate lawsuit is decided in court.

"Federal immigration authorities are barreling past their legal obligations in an effort to build an immigration detention facility as quickly as they can," Brown stated. "Once construction begins, the damage to Maryland's waterways, protected species, and communities cannot be undone. We are asking the court to intervene now to stop this unlawful construction, before DHS and ICE's disregard for the law causes irreversible harm."

Pending lawsuit over Maryland ICE facility

Maryland's Attorney General's Office has a pending lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to pause work on the 825,0000-square-foot building in Washington County.

Brown is challenging the federal government's purchase and conversion of the warehouse.

The 28-page lawsuit alleges that DHS and ICE disregarded federal law just so that they could quickly implement the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

The lawsuit also claims that the federal government had not conducted an environmental review of the project or held a meeting for public comment.

The lawsuit says that construction to the warehouse could cause sediment runoff and pollution to nearby Semple Run, a stream that feeds into the Conococheague Creek and ultimately the Potomac River.

Brown says the existing sewer and water infrastructure is "wholly insufficient to support a detention center of this size, greatly increasing the risk of inhumane conditions seen at other detention centers throughout the country and here in Maryland."

"We're asking the court to halt construction and operation of this facility," Brown stated last month. "We're asking the court to require a proper environmental review with full public input, and we're asking the court to declare that what the administration did here was unlawful."

The lawsuit states that ICE purchased the 54-acre facility in Williamsport, Maryland, near Hagerstown, on Jan. 16 for $102.4 million. The property was built to serve as a commercial facility and has warehouse space, offices, four toilets, and two water fountains. 

"According to DHS, the federal government intends to convert this industrial warehouse into a detention center capable of housing 1,500 people at a time," the lawsuit reads. "Williamsport itself is home to just over 2,000 residents – meaning this facility alone would nearly match the town's entire population."

DHS, in a statement to CBS Baltimore, says the "very well-structured detention facilities" will meet the regular detention standards, and the sites will undergo community impact studies and a due diligence process to make sure there is no negative impacts on local utilities or infrastructure.

DHS said the facility and its construction could open up to 1,125 jobs and would bring in about $28.8 million in tax revenue.

"These economic benefits don't even take into account that removing criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers," an ICE spokesperson stated. "ICE is targeting criminal illegal aliens, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and more. 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities."

$113 million renovation contract awarded 

Last week, DHS awarded a $113 million contract to KVG LLC, a firm from Gettysburg, Pa., to renovate the proposed federal immigration detention and processing facility near Hagerstown.

The renovation and construction project was expected to begin on March 6 and is expected to end by early May.