Attorney General Brown Files Lawsuit to Stop Construction of Unlawful ICE Detention ...

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Lawsuit Challenges Federal Purchase of Warehouse Without Required Environmental Review or State Consultation

*BALTIMORE, MD *– Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration’s unlawful construction of a massive federal immigration detention center in Washington County, Maryland. The lawsuit challenges the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) purchase of a warehouse near Williamsport for conversion into an immigration detention facility – a major federal project, conducted behind closed doors, and without the requisite environmental review, public participation, or state consultation.

“The Trump Administration will stop at nothing to pursue its extreme immigration agenda – including breaking the law. DHS purchased this facility while keeping the State and the public in the dark, spending more than $100 million in federal taxpayer dollars without performing the required environmental review and without giving Maryland or Marylanders any voice in the process,” said Attorney General Brown. “We will not allow this Administration to treat laws like suggestions and threaten our people or their communities.”

A video statement from Attorney General Brown is available here: *https://youtu.be/2AebP_YiNeg.*

“No administration is above the law. Our people must be heard when the federal government makes decisions that affect their health, their safety, and their communities,” said Gov. Wes Moore. “DHS spent more than $100 million in taxpayer money to purchase a Washington County warehouse to serve as an ICE detention facility—without an environmental review and without public input. The State of Maryland is filing this lawsuit because DHS must be held to the same legal standard as every other federal agency.”

On January 16, 2026, ICE purchased a 54-acre warehouse just outside of Williamsport for $102.4 million. The property was built between 2021 and 2023 as a commercial facility with 825,620 square feet of warehouse space, minimal office facilities, and only four toilets and two water fountains. According to DHS, the federal government intends to convert this industrial warehouse into a detention center capable of housing 1,500 people at a time. Williamsport itself is home to just over 2,000 residents – meaning this facility alone would nearly match the town’s entire population.

Nationwide, ICE detention facilities have faced documented concerns about inhumane conditions, access to medical care, and denial of basic dignity. Converting a warehouse, designed for commerce, into a detention center raises grave concerns that individuals detained at this new facility would face similar or worse conditions.

Federal law requires agencies to conduct environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) before taking major federal actions that significantly affect the environment, including assessing environmental impacts, considering alternatives, consulting with affected state and federal agencies, and providing opportunities for public comment. The lawsuit alleges that DHS and ICE violated NEPA by purchasing the property and moving forward with construction plans without conducting any of these required steps. The lawsuit further alleges that DHS and ICE violated the Administrative Procedure Act by providing no explanation for their decision, failing to consider reasonable alternatives, and abandoning their own past practice of conducting environmental reviews for similar detention facility projects – all without any reasoned justification.

The complaint explains that ICE’s purchase of the Williamsport warehouse is part of a broader effort to build mass detention infrastructure across the country, purchasing warehouses and converting them into detention centers capable of holding tens of thousands of people. Maryland has a strong commitment to protecting people from inhumane, unsanitary, and dangerous detention. Maryland also has a strong commitment to ensuring that community members have a voice in decisions that affect their neighborhoods and the people who live in them. This major new federal undertaking also threatens to have significant impacts on local waterways and the Potomac River watershed, state protected species, air quality, traffic, and public health and safety. The Trump administration’s covert purchase circumvented federal law and deprived the State and its residents the opportunity to raise fundamental concerns about this detention center.

Attorney General Brown’s lawsuit seeks to protect Maryland’s interests in its natural resources, public health and safety, and community values.