Maryland AG Brown sues Trump administration over ICE facility

Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun on Feb 23, 2026

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BALTIMORE — Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown sued the Trump administration on Monday in an effort to stop plans to convert a Washington County warehouse into a 1,500-bed immigration detention facility.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for Maryland, is largely based on the Department of Homeland Security’s alleged failure to comply with environmental review procedures before spending $102.4 million to buy the warehouse in Williamsport. The federal government purchased the over 825,000-square-foot facility in January, prompting Gov. Wes Moore and other Maryland officials to sound off over what they called a lack of transparency.

“They spent more than $100 million of taxpayer money on this purchase without telling anyone,” Brown, a Democrat, said in a recorded statement. “No public notice, no consultation with the state, no known environmental review. They just did it.”

Earlier this month, the Washington County Board of County Commissioners expressed support for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. Spokespeople for the DHS and ICE’s Baltimore field office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit alleges that the administration’s plans to transform the warehouse into a detention center “will have predictable impacts on the environmental, economic, and public health and safety interests” in the state.

“In their zeal to purchase and convert the Williamsport Warehouse into an immigration detention facility, Defendants have run roughshod over federal law and trampled on the State’s interests,” the complaint says. It seeks for a judge to find the warehouse purchase and conversion plans illegal and restrain the Trump administration from further implementing their plans.

The lawsuit is the latest effort by Maryland officials to combat the expansion of ICE within the state as President Donald Trump attempts to fulfill his campaign promise of carrying out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

Last week, Moore signed a bill banning local authorities from entering 287(g) agreements with ICE; state lawmakers have also passed a bill banning law enforcement, including federal authorities, from wearing face coverings. Immigrant-rights groups and state Democrats have also raised concerns about inhumane conditions at the ICE holding facility in downtown Baltimore.

“No administration is above the law. Our people must be heard when the federal government makes decisions that affect their health, their safety, and their communities,” Moore said in a statement, adding that the state filed the lawsuit because DHS “must be held to the same legal standard as every other federal agency.”

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