Fate of proposed Howard County ICE facility still up in the air

A federal judge is still deciding whether or not to reinstate the permits for a proposed ICE facility in Elkridge. Meanwhile, immigrant advocates are continuing to rally against it.

Before arguments started in Thursday's hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Adam Abelson said it was unlikely he'd give a decision at the hearing.

Since the last court date in May, lawyers for Genesis GSA Strategic One LLC -- the company building up the facility -- had to file an amended complaint after Abelson declared some of the lawsuit against Howard County moot.

Genesis sued Howard County in March after the county revoked the permits for the building. In court, lawyers for the county maintained that it was just following the requirements of a state statute.

Michael Edney, the lawyer taking the reins for Genesis in court, said that the statute is unconstitutional and discriminates against the federal government.

A state statute

Edney argued the statute in question violates the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause, which gives federal law precedence when it's in conflict with state or local law.

The statute requires a public comment period for buildings with immigration detention at least 180 days before permit approval.

"They're trying to impose an extra penalty lap on us, an extra burden," Edney said. "Just because there's an aspect of the build, just 4% of it, that might be used for federal immigration detention."

Edney said the statute clearly targets the federal government, as it's the only entity that can enforce federal immigration enforcement.

It's a point Abelson agreed with at times, even saying at one point, "This is a targeted state law."

A lawyer from the Maryland Attorney General's office defended the constitutionality of the statute, noting it applies to private entities and is about information sharing. She also said Genesis's complaint sounds like it has more of an issue with Howard County's application of the statute, rather than the statute itself.

Edney also detailed the financial toll the situation's been for Genesis. The facility had been in the works since 2022, and Genesis had put in around $21 million when the permits were revoked, according to Edney, and it's running $5,000 per day in insurance costs.

"We've been building GSA buildings around the country since 1992, and we've never had this type of issue. So, it's a family business. We work, we develop, we own these buildings, we sell the buildings," said Gregg Barton, Genesis's owner.

Edney has said detention in the building would be very temporary, as it would only happen during the building's office hours. No one would be detained overnight.

It's not clear when Abelson will give his decision in the case.

Community impact already happening

Immigrant rights group We Are CASA organized a rally ahead of Thursday's hearing right outside of the courthouse.

One by one, speakers talked about how they don't want ICE to have a strong presence in the community, saying the proposed facility is already having an impact.

"Many of our immigrant neighbors from Elkridge, from Howard County, wanted to be here today. They met with their attorneys and they decided they could not safely attend because of the climate of violence and of fear the Trump administration has had," said Jossie Flor Sapunar, We Are CASA's national communications director.

We Are CASA member Montserrat, a longtime Elkridge resident, described how she's had several family members taken by ICE in the last year. She's also worried about the impact of having an ICE facility in her community.

"If they place an ICE center in Elkridge, it won't just be an office or a detention facility. It means expanding this machine into our county and across our state," she said.