Feds: We’re reconsidering scope of Washington County ICE detention facility

The federal government is reconsidering the scope of its plans for a controversial immigration detention facility at a massive warehouse in Washington County, according to new court records.

Under new leadership, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it will not redevelop the warehouse’s interior for housing detainees until it conducts an additional environmental analysis and makes a final decision on its plans for the site in Williamsport.

“The agency will not be imminently pursuing any retrofitting work for detention purposes,” attorneys for the government wrote in a court filing this week.

The new court filing does not say that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of DHS, is abandoning its plans for the Washington County warehouse, just that it is reconsidering them. The agency intends to use the site to support the Baltimore field office’s detention needs, an ICE leader wrote in the court papers.

The filing responds to a lawsuit filed by the Maryland attorney general’s office, which argued that construction on the warehouse should be halted over environmental concerns. A judge agreed to temporarily stop work there and is expected to consider a longer pause on construction at a court hearing next week.

ICE’s lawyers wrote that the agency only plans to build a perimeter fence and install security cameras; make roof and wall repairs; and do minor internal construction to create administrative office space. Additional environmental review would come before more significant construction or retrofitting, according to the filing.

The filing asks U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson to reject the state’s request for a longer stop-work order and allow ICE to move forward with preliminary work at the site.

The agency offered a “commitment not to engage in retrofitting construction or operations pending additional administrative processes.” It also argued that it has conducted an environmental assessment in compliance with federal law.

The Department of Homeland Security bought the 825,000-square-foot facility for $102.4 million in January, and has said it could hold up to 1,500 people there. The plans sparked swift backlash from community members and state lawmakers, though Washington County’s commissioners declared full support for the project soon after it became public.

The warehouse was one of several slated to be converted into ICE facilities as the agency worked to expand its detention capacity to 92,000 beds.

But The Associated Press reported this week that DHS is pausing the purchase of new warehouses and scrutinizing contracts signed under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was fired early last month. A new Homeland Security secretary, Markwayne Mullin, was sworn in three weeks later.

In an email, DHS issued a statement, arguing the stop-work order issued last month is not about the environment, but about blocking President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

The agency did not answer questions about how it is reevaluating its plans for the Washington County warehouse.

A spokesperson for the Maryland attorney general’s office said the state’s response is due on April 9 and declined to comment further.

State law does not allow ICE to contract with local governments for detention space, and the crowded holding cells at ICE’s downtown Baltimore field office were temporarily shut down last month after a federal judge ordered the agency to ensure that detainees had adequate space and hygiene.

“ICE has an urgent need for detention space in Maryland,” the agency’s lawyers wrote.

ICE completed an initial environmental review of the Williamsport property on the basis that it would hold up to 542 detainees and include 448 dormitory pods, according to Shawn Byers, the national project manager for the ICE detention capacity acquisition program. Since then, it has considered expanding the facility’s capacity to up to 1,500 detainees, but has not made a final decision to pursue that increase.

Maryland’s lawsuit argues that the construction necessary to retrofit the warehouse for detention would harm the surrounding environment, including local waterways that could be impacted if there are sewage overflows. But ICE countered that its plans to house around 550 people there would fall within the warehouse’s water and sewage capacity.

“The agency has found that existing traffic, water, and sewer infrastructure likely will not need to be changed or upgraded for purposes of the retrofit,” ICE’s attorneys wrote.