Court Halts Construction of Hagerstown Migrant Detention Center
Victory
—Federal agencies must halt construction or renovation of warehouse for pendency of litigation
Contacts
Alejandro Dávila Fragoso, adavila@earthjustice.org
A court granted a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from continuing construction on a proposed mass detention facility near Williamsport, Maryland.
The ruling from April 15 prohibits retrofitting of the vacant commercial warehouse, purchased by DHS in January 2026, during the pendency of the litigation.
“This order confirms that no agency can bulldoze its way past the law,” said Deena Tumeh, Earthjustice senior attorney. “It serves as a critical check on executive overreach and a reminder that the concerns of the most impacted communities cannot be ignored.”
Last month, a coalition of environmental and community organizations, represented by Earthjustice and the Center for Biological Diversity, filed an amicus brief backing Maryland’s legal challenge. Advocates raised serious concerns about the facility’s potential harms to local waterways, wastewater systems, stormwater infrastructure, and the health of detainees and residents.
In January 2026, DHS purchased a vacant warehouse near Williamsport, a town of 2,000, to convert into a detention center holding up to 1,500 immigrants. The move is part of a nationwide push by ICE and DHS to rapidly expand mass detention capacity by repurposing commercial warehouses.
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