FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today filed an emergency motion asking a federal court to immediately halt any construction or retrofitting of a warehouse near Williamsport, Maryland, that the Trump administration is converting into a mass immigration detention facility. The motion comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awarded a construction contract on March 6, 2026 to begin renovation of the property – the latest step in a project that has proceeded in defiance of federal environmental law. The motion asks the court to pause construction for up to 14 days while the court considers the State’s broader legal challenge.
“Federal immigration authorities are barreling past their legal obligations in an effort to build an immigration detention facility as quickly as they can. Once construction begins, the damage to Maryland's waterways, protected species, and communities cannot be undone,” said Attorney General Brown. “We are asking the court to intervene now to stop this unlawful construction, before DHS and ICE’s disregard for the law causes irreversible harm.”
On February 23, 2026, Attorney General Brown filed a lawsuit against DHS and ICE challenging the purchase and planned conversion of the warehouse – a major federal project conducted without the required environmental review, public participation, or state consultation.
Today’s emergency motion argues that once construction begins, the damage cannot be undone. The warehouse sits adjacent to Semple Run, a stream that feeds into the Conococheague Creek and ultimately the Potomac River – waterways that are home to state-protected and endangered species. Construction activity is likely to cause sediment runoff and pollution to those waters, and the facility’s existing sewer and water infrastructure is wholly insufficient to support a detention center of this size, greatly increasing the risk of inhumane conditions seen at other detention centers throughout the country and here in Maryland. A pause in construction would allow the court time to weigh the State’s full legal challenge before any irreversible harm occurs.
Attorney General Brown’s lawsuit and today’s emergency motion seek to protect Maryland’s natural resources, public health and safety, and the right of Maryland communities to have a voice in decisions that affect them.
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