Federal judge reinstates building permits for Elkridge ICE facility

A federal judge ruled Monday that construction may continue on a planned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Elkridge, dealing a blow to Howard County leaders’ attempt to halt the controversial project.

U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson granted a preliminary injunction against Howard County, reinstating the permits that local leaders revoked in February.

Residents first learned of the project, which had been in the works since President Joe Biden’s administration, days earlier when the facility was more than 90% complete. The revelation sparked public hearings in which the county’s elected leaders rushed to pass emergency legislation aimed at blocking the project and citizen protests outside of the county headquarters in Ellicott City and the federal courthouse in downtown Baltimore.

The facility located at 6522 Meadowridge Road and meant to replace ICE’s Baltimore field office in the Hopkins Plaza office building. Architectural renderings show most of the suburban Elkridge building is designed to be office space and meeting rooms for ICE officials, but the facility also contains secured holding areas for people detained there.

Attorneys for building’s owner, the Michigan-based federal contractor Genesis GSA Strategic One, have argued the company’s only role in the project was to retrofit the building for federal use. Genesis signed a lease with the federal government, which will solely manage and operate the facility.

Howard attorneys had argued the revocations were necessary because the permits were issued improperly and ran afoul of a Maryland code that requires certain public disclosures for privately owned immigrant detention facilities.

Neither representatives for Howard County nor the attorneys for Genesis responded immediately to a request for comment.

This story may be updated.