The Trump administration is backing a legal challenge to Howard County’s efforts to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement from moving its Baltimore field office to a privately owned office building in Elkridge.

ICE’s space in the George H. Fallon Federal Building in downtown Baltimore limits the agency’s intelligence capacity and ability to act on public safety threats, while exposing it to additional costs and compliance risks, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice told a federal court Friday.

The filing marks the first time the federal government has publicly weighed in on a consequential legal dispute between Howard County and Genesis GSA Strategic One LLC, the private owner of the office building at 6522 Meadowridge Road.

ICE intended to move its Baltimore field office there in May, federal contract records show. Genesis had signed a lease with the federal government in 2023 and was about 90% finished retrofitting the space when, in February, the county canceled the building permits and issued a stop work order, asserting the company had not fulfilled necessary disclosures and hearings required by state law. Days later, hundreds of residents rallied against the project and County Council members unanimously passed a ban on permits for private detention centers.

Genesis sued Howard County in March, claiming officials obstructed the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration law and open detention sites.

The Michigan-based company — and now the DOJ — claims the county’s actions interfered with federal operations and thus violated the Constitution’s supremacy clause, which gives precedence to federal law when it conflicts with state or local law.

The federal lawsuit offers the public a window into the predicament ICE faces in Maryland as it ramps up detentions and deportations. The agency has come under scrutiny for overcrowding and deteriorating conditions in the Fallon building, but efforts to expand its footprint elsewhere have sparked resistance from residents and elected leaders.

The opposition comes amid an uproar over ICE’s aggressive tactics in Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens were killed by federal agents in January.

Over the last year, lawmakers, a federal judge and Maryland’s attorney general have pushed President Donald Trump’s administration to improve conditions in the Fallon building. A viral video posted online in January showed dozens of detainees packed into one of the holding rooms. ICE temporarily closed its holding cells at the Baltimore field office last month and moved many of the detainees to other facilities across the country.

Federal attorneys now say the Fallon building in Hopkins Plaza is “inadequate for mission-critical operations due to security deficiencies, logistical challenges, and space limitations.”

Renderings of the proposed Elkridge facility suggest that much of the building would be used as office space for the field director, deputies and other supervisors. The plans show conference, training and break rooms, along with lockers and a fitness center.

A smaller section near a sally port shows five detainee holding rooms, showers and property storage. Occupancy tallies included in the drawings suggest the detainee processing and holding rooms could handle no more than 49 people. Detainees requiring overnight stays would be transferred to other facilities, such as county jails that have contracts with the federal government, according to Genesis’ suit.

Genesis is seeking a court injunction that would compel the county to reissue permits so the building can be finished, to declare the emergency ban unconstitutional and to block local authorities from taking further action against Genesis for providing goods and services to the government.

Howard County could be on the hook for the cost of pausing construction and attorney fees if the courts side with the company.

Safa Hira, a county spokesperson, declined to address the Justice Department’s interest in the case, noting that the county does not comment on pending litigation. However, the county’s Office of Law has denied any conflicts with federal law and filed a motion to dismiss the suit.

A motions hearing for the case is scheduled for May 8 at 10 a.m.

Baltimore Banner freelancer Madeleine O’Neill contributed to this article.