A federal judge in Maryland issued a temporary restraining order on Wednesday to halt construction work on an ICE detention centre after the state had sued, citing environmental concerns.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown had argued that President Donald Trump’s administration had not conducted a proper environmental review or received public input.
The federal government spent more than $100 million on a 54-acre warehouse in Maryland’s Washington County to convert it into an ICE detention centre capable of holding 1,500 people at a time, Brown said in February when the state sued.
‘Hard Look’
U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson granted Maryland’s request for a restraining order to immediately pause construction for up to 14 days while the court considered Maryland’s broader legal challenge.
“The State has shown that Defendants likely failed to comply with their obligations under (the National Environmental Policy Act),” the judge wrote.
“Defendants do not appear to have taken a ‘hard look’ at the potential environmental consequences of their plans for the Williamsport Warehouse,” the judge added.
Immigration Crackdown
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has federal oversight of immigration and of which the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is a part, has previously said DHS was willing to work with state officials to expand detention capabilities. It has also previously rejected Maryland’s assertion that the lawsuit was based on environmental concerns.
The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and deportation drive have received widespread condemnation from rights advocates over what they call violations of free speech and due process rights. Rights experts also say the crackdown has created an unsafe environment, particularly for minorities.
Trump has cast his actions as aiming to stop illegal immigration and improve domestic security.
Brown cast the ruling as a win.
“Though temporary, this ruling stops the construction of this massive immigration detention centre while our lawsuit continues to play out in court. We will not let DHS and ICE rush through the proper legal process in their haste to ramp up deportations,” Brown said.
(with inputs from Reuters)
