Maryland is suing the Trump administration to halt construction of an immigration detention center in the state, according to a complaint filed Monday.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown says in the complaint that the Department of Homeland Security violated federal law by purchasing a warehouse in the state without an environmental review and without public input.
“The Trump administration will stop at nothing to pursue its extreme immigration agenda — including breaking the law,” Brown said in a statement. “DHS purchased this facility while keeping the state and the public in the dark, spending more than $100 million on federal taxpayer dollars without conducting the required environmental review and without giving Maryland or Marylanders any voice in the process.”
According to the complaint, DHS purchased a vacant commercial warehouse outside Williamsport, Maryland, on Jan. 16 for $102.4 million. The lawsuit says the purchase is part of a broader “mass immigration detention program” to convert warehouses across the country into detention centers as part of the government’s immigration policy.
“Defendants are purchasing warehouses across the country and attempting to convert them into immigration detention and processing centers that could house tens of thousands of immigrants,” the lawsuit said.
Contacted by ABC News, a DHS spokesperson said in a statement: “Let’s be honest about this. This is not about the environment. It’s about trying to stop President Trump from making America safe again.”
“These will not be warehouses – they will be highly structured detention centers that meet our regular detention standards,” the statement said. “It should not be news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the US and is actively working to expand detention space.
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters, FILE
“Secretary [Kristi] Noem has stated that she is willing to work with officials on both sides of the aisle to expand detention space to help ICE law enforcement conduct the largest deportation effort in American history,” the DHS statement said.
According to the Maryland complaint, the federal government violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by failing to conduct mandatory environmental reviews or solicit public input on the project.
“Despite the extensive nature of this undertaking, Defendants have provided little information to the State regarding its plans for the Property, depriving the State of the information necessary to fully assess the harm that Defendants’ actions will have on Plaintiff’s sovereign interests,” the lawsuit said.
Brown also argued in the complaint that converting the warehouse into a massive immigration detention facility “will have predictable consequences to the environmental, economic and public health interests of the State of Maryland.”
The state is asking the court to block further construction of the facility.
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