Federal Judge Halts Construction of Maryland ICE Detention Facility
Judge blocks $133 million warehouse conversion, finding officials likely skipped required environmental reviews.
U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson issued the temporary restraining order at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, siding with the State of Maryland, which sued ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons.
The order halts all construction and renovation at the Williamsport Warehouse — a property at 16220 Wright Road that the federal government purchased for roughly $102.4 million — for fourteen days while the case proceeds.
Maryland argued that federal agencies were required under the National Environmental Policy Act to complete either an Environmental Impact Statement or an Environmental Assessment before breaking ground, and that officials did neither. The administration had awarded a contractor more than $100 million to renovate the facility, with work slated to run from March 6 through May 4, 2026.
Judge Hurson found that the state was likely to succeed on the merits, noting that the only environmental review he could identify was a brief public notice posted to a DHS website about the facility’s location in a floodplain — and that a renovation contract was awarded just one day after that comment period closed.
The state warned of threats to three nearby waterways — Semple Run, Conococheague Creek, and the Potomac River — as well as endangered species in the surrounding area. The facility was slated to hold up to 1,500 detainees.
Defendants must file a status report within 48 hours detailing their compliance with the order.
I've submitted this info to a news agency in Arizona - hoping court system in AZ can block the proposed center in Marana, AZ.
Thank you Project Salt Box and AG Brown! This is an important front in the fight against authoritarianism in a modern democracy. Where the judiciary is intact we must use it to the max. The DHS contracts reveal the flow of taxpayer dollars to local vendors and property owners who choose to profit from building the deportation infrastructure and wrecking our communities. This ruling is a win!