Judge Blocks ICE Warehouse Construction in Md.

The federal district court in Maryland issued a temporary restraining order halting ICE’s plan to convert a $102 million warehouse near Williamsport into a detention center for up to 1,500 detainees. Judge Kirsten Herson found that the agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by skipping required public notice and proceeding on a flood‑plain without meaningful community input. The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Anthony Brown, was sparked by grassroots research from Project Saltbox, a Baltimore‑based network that documents ICE warehouse projects and equips ordinary citizens with legal tools.

The environmental stakes are acute. The site sits on a 50‑year floodplain that drains into Semple Run Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, which supplies drinking water to Hagerstown and downstream communities. ICE’s plan allocated only 800 gallons of water per day, far short of the 200,000 gallons needed for sanitation, cooking, and sewage treatment. Experts warned that inadequate plumbing would overflow into groundwater, contaminating wells and the Chesapeake Bay watershed. By ignoring NEPA’s flood‑plain analysis, ICE exposed the region to flood risk, water scarcity, and long‑term ecological damage.

The Maryland victory offers a template for other states grappling with similar “human‑warehousing” projects. Project Saltbox’s tracker shows 12 contracts canceled after community challenges, and the ruling could encourage attorneys general in Arizona, Michigan, and New Jersey to pursue comparable suits. A successful precedent would force ICE to conduct genuine environmental reviews, respect procedural safeguards, and halt costly construction that may never be usable. For businesses and local governments, the case underscores the financial risk of partnering with a federal agency that sidesteps statutory compliance, while empowering communities to defend public health and natural resources.