Judge orders 14-day halt to work at Washington County ICE facility

A federal judge Wednesday paused the construction and retrofitting of a Western Maryland warehouse that the Trump administration plans to convert into an immigration detention center.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown requested the emergency court order Tuesday to halt work on the 825,000-square-foot commercial space while a challenge of the federal government’s purchase moves through the court.

Brown’s February lawsuit alleged the Department of Homeland Security acted in secret and skipped key environmental analyses required by federal law. Changing up the massive structure to house up to 1,500 detainees will have “predictable impacts” on the environment, the economy and the public’s health and safety, Brown argued.

In his Wednesday ruling, U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson granted a temporary restraining order because the state showed it would “suffer irreparable harm without one.” He also wrote the state’s broader legal challenge demonstrated “a likelihood of success on the merits.”

A DHS spokesperson said the ruling wasn’t about the environment, but about preventing President Trump from improving national security.

President Donald Trump campaigned in 2024 on a promise to deport convicted violent criminals, but a Banner analysis from last fall showed most immigrants arrested in Maryland had never before been charged with a crime.

Brown said in a statement the judge’s order is a “critical victory” and will protect natural resources and communities before “irreversible harm” can be done.

The warehouse is one of several purchased across the country by the Trump administration in order to deport millions of immigrants. Brown’s lawsuit could serve as a roadmap for other states seeking to limit the federal agency’s footprint.

“We will not let DHS and ICE rush through the proper legal process in their haste to ramp up deportations,” Brown said.

DHS purchased the warehouse in January for $102.4 million and recently awarded a $113 million contract to turn the commercial space into a detention center.

Starting the build-out, Brown argued, could cause immediate damage to surrounding ecosystems and waterways and wouldn’t allow for the public to weigh in on the building in its current form.

Hurson agreed, citing “the likelihood of irreparable harm resulting from the environmental concerns identified by the State” in his decision.

The Biden appointee ordered DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop construction for 14 days. Hurson said he granted the order to “maintain the status quo until a motion for a preliminary injunction can be filed and a hearing can be set.”

The judge added that nothing in his order prohibits the federal government from proceeding with an environmental impact study.