Michigan Sues to Block Conversion of Romulus Warehouse Into Immigration Detention Center
State officials allege the federal government bypassed environmental reviews to turn a suburban Detroit warehouse into a 500-bed immigration facility.
Michigan and the City of Romulus filed suit on Tuesday seeking to block the conversion of a suburban Detroit warehouse into an immigration detention center, opening a third front in a widening legal challenge to the Trump administration’s detention expansion program.
The complaint, brought by Attorney General Dana Nessel in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, centers on a 249,000-square-foot facility at 7525 Cogswell Street in Romulus, which federal officials purchased in February for $34.7 million. The suit contends that the Department of Homeland Security failed to conduct required environmental reviews and did not notify state or local officials until after the transaction was complete.
The filing follows two earlier lawsuits challenging similar projects. In Maryland, a federal judge has frozen construction on a planned detention facility there. In New Jersey, state officials and the Township of Roxbury moved last week to block a proposed 1,500-bed center. Together, the three cases form the first coordinated legal challenge to the administration’s warehouse-based detention strategy.
At issue across all three suits is the administration’s “Detention Reengineering Initiative,” a program backed by roughly $45 billion in congressional appropriations and aimed at rapidly expanding detention capacity nationwide. State and local officials argue the effort has relied on accelerated property acquisitions and truncated review processes that bypass environmental law and local consultation requirements.
The Romulus site raises concerns not at issue in the Maryland and New Jersey cases. According to the complaint, the warehouse lies within a federally designated floodplain and borders a 118-acre wetland conservation easement. It is also less than a mile from two public schools, a location state officials say is unsuitable for detention use.
The lawsuit also cites infrastructure constraints similar to those raised in New Jersey. The facility relies on a six-inch sewer line that local officials say cannot support hundreds of detainees and staff. It further contends that federal officials did not assess existing correctional facilities in Michigan or neighboring states before acquiring the property.
As in the other cases, the suit centers in part on a lack of coordination with local authorities. Romulus officials say they were not notified of the purchase until after it was completed, forming the basis of claims under the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act.
The complaint also points to economic consequences. City officials say a major automobile manufacturer had been in discussions to redevelop the warehouse, plans displaced by the federal acquisition. They argue the project would strain local infrastructure and divert emergency resources.
In a public notice issued in late February, the Department of Homeland Security said it intended to use the site for temporary housing and to install 3,800 feet of perimeter fencing. Michigan officials argue that a conversion of that scale requires a full review under the National Environmental Policy Act, including an environmental impact statement, which they say was not conducted.
The Romulus MI team has built a tool we call the “regulatory punch list” breaking out every local approval needed, what actions cross property boundaries to trigger local review and what design standards the feds are supposed to follow. A clear pathway to organize the interventions that matter most. DM me so we can share and hopefully make it “broad cast” ready. It comes with a user guide.
AG Dana Nessel rocks!