Judge orders pause on ICE detention center construction in Maryland

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Maryland issued a temporary restraining order on Wednesday to halt construction work on an immigration detention center after the state had sued citing environmental concerns.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown had argued that President Donald Trump's administration had not conducted a proper environmental review or received public input.

The federal government spent more than $100 million on a 54-acre warehouse in Maryland's Washington County to convert it into a detention center capable of holding 1,500 people at a time, Brown said in February when the state sued.

U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson granted Maryland's request for a restraining order to immediately pause construction for up to 14 days while the court considered Maryland's broader legal challenge.

"The State has shown that Defendants likely failed to comply with their obligations under (the National Environmental Policy Act)," the judge wrote.

"Defendants do not appear to have taken a 'hard look' at the potential environmental consequences of their plans for the Williamsport Warehouse," the judge added.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has federal oversight of immigration and of which the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is a part, has previously said DHS was willing to work with state officials to expand detention capabilities. It has also previously rejected Maryland's assertion that the lawsuit was based on environmental concerns.

The Trump administration's immigration crackdown and deportation drive have received widespread condemnation from rights advocates over what they call violations of free speech and due process rights. Rights experts also say the crackdown has created an unsafe environment, particularly for minorities.

Trump has cast his actions as aiming to stop illegal immigration and improve domestic security.

Brown cast the ruling as a win.

"Though temporary, this ruling stops the construction of this massive immigration detention center while our lawsuit continues to play out in court. We will not let DHS and ICE rush through the proper legal process in their haste to ramp up deportations," Brown said.