U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot proceed with retrofitting a warehouse in Western Maryland into a detention facility, pending further court proceedings, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson cited “internal inconsistencies” in the federal government’s report concerning possible environmental impacts on the surrounding area and concluded federal officials should have conducted a more comprehensive analysis before proceeding with their plans.

Hurson’s injunction prohibits building and operating detention space inside the facility while awaiting further arguments in the federal court case. But the ruling still allows ICE to proceed with certain construction activities like erecting an eight-foot security fence around the property, installing security cameras, fixing the HVAC system and creating office space inside.

The ruling comes as Hurson’s previous stop-work order barring any construction at the site was set to expire.

At least 200 people rallied outside the courthouse before the hearing, denouncing ICE with chants and signs. A choir led the crowd in protest songs as more people arrived in the courtyard; the George H. Fallon building — the site of Baltimore’s controversial ICE hold room — loomed across the street.

“We will not let ICE treat our people like goods,” said Ama Frimpong, chief of services for We Are CASA, the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Maryland.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, purchased an unoccupied, 825,620-square-foot warehouse designed for commercial goods on the outskirts of Williamsport in January. It was one of several similar properties the agency purchased around the country in an effort to speed up President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport alleged undocumented immigrants by retrofitting existing buildings into detention centers.

In February, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown sued to stop the conversion on environmental and public health grounds, alleging that DHS rushed through the sale without conducting sufficient analysis of its environmental impact.

In court filings, Brown’s office requested Hurson continue to bar any construction at the site until a full trial on the larger issues under the National Environmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedures Act could be held.

Local officials and advocacy groups, including city council members from nearby Hagerstown and local chapters of the ACLU and NAACP, added their voices in opposition. They argued in part that the proposed detention center threatens to overwhelm local infrastructure and harm Washington County economically.

U.S. Justice Department attorneys challenged Brown’s claims of environmental harm as “far too speculative,” and argued the temporary stop-work order prevented DHS from taking basic steps to protect the property like adding a security system or making necessary HVAC and roof repairs.

Agency officials acknowledged the ultimate goal for the site includes detention space, but wrote that ICE is not “imminently pursuing” the retrofitting work and plans to conduct additional environmental analysis before moving forward.

As arguments got underway, Hurson indicated the court could grant the state’s request to maintain its bar on retrofitting the property into a detention facility while also allowing ICE make those basic improvements to protect the property.

Initial reports indicated that ICE planned the site for 1,500 beds. However, agency officials have since said that its capacity at first would be limited to 542 people before making infrastructure improvements necessary to scale up to 1,500.

The state threw another wrench into ICE’s plans on Monday. The Department of the Environment issued an administrative order to Washington County barring it from issuing additional wastewater permits for the site, writing in court papers that the surrounding sewer system cannot handle the increased demand of hundreds of detainees, a claim that ICE disputes. The County must update its comprehensive water and sewer plan before it could grant such allowances, according to the order.