Federal Judge Halts ICE’s 1,500-Bed Maryland Detention Project in Emergency Order
A federal judge has ordered an immediate halt to construction of a proposed ICE detention facility in western Maryland, pausing a project that was expected to hold up to 1,500 migrants.
The ruling intensifies a legal clash between Maryland officials and federal immigration authorities over how the detention center was approved.
U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson issued a temporary restraining order blocking renovation of a warehouse in Washington County that the Department of Homeland Security planned to convert into a large immigration detention facility. According to Reuters and The Washington Post, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown argued the federal government failed to conduct required environmental reviews before starting the project.
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The state’s lawsuit claims federal agencies moved forward without complying with the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires environmental analysis and public input for major federal actions.
Hurson wrote that the plaintiffs showed the government likely failed to follow those environmental requirements.
Brown said the ruling “ensures federal agencies cannot ignore the law when making decisions that impact Maryland communities.”
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The proposed facility, estimated to cost around $100 million, would convert a large warehouse near Williamsport into a detention center designed to hold up to 1,500 people awaiting deportation proceedings.
The project is part of broader federal efforts to expand immigration detention capacity as enforcement operations increase nationwide, but the expansion has drawn legal challenges and opposition from state officials and advocacy groups.
For now, construction and renovation work must stop while the court reviews Maryland’s broader challenge to the project.
A further hearing is expected in the coming weeks.
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