U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has opened an office in Hunt Valley for its attorneys, a lawyer representing the property owner confirmed in an email to The Banner.

State property records show the building is owned by The International Trust, which attorney Tim Braue said leased 16,365 square feet of office space to the U.S. General Services Administration. The space is being used by the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, the legal arm of ICE.

Braue said the office houses attorneys, clerical workers and paralegals, with space for about 34 employees. Their work includes representing the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, in immigration cases, contract negotiations, customs enforcement, employee matters, Freedom of Information Act requests and other legal issues.

Braue did not specify when the lease began, though public records show a commercial change-of-occupancy permit was filed Jan. 20.

Plans for the Hunt Valley office, at 201 International Circle, were first reported last week by Wired magazine as part of an investigation into ICE’s planned expansion nationwide. Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier confirmed Friday that the federal government had leased an office in Hunt Valley, though she said its intended use was unclear.

The news prompted Klausmeier, a Democrat, to convene an emergency session of the County Council, which on Tuesday night passed legislation blocking immigration detention centers from operating in the county.

Braue said the Hunt Valley property is not a detention facility.

“There are no uniformed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the building, and no detained individuals will be brought to the leased office space,” he wrote.

The attorney added that the building has approximately 50,000 square feet of office space and hosts multiple other tenants, including businesses in a variety of industries.