A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday evening blocking ICE from moving ahead with plans to create a migrant detention facility in Williamsport.
Judge Brendan Hurson, a Biden appointee to the court in Maryland, said the halt will last at least 14 days and blocks U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from converting a warehouse into detention space.
He sided with state officials, who have objected to the facility and complained that the area infrastructure can’t handle the 1,500 beds being planned.
Judge Hurson said potential environmental consequences are severe enough to halt the project while the case is argued more fully.
He said he’s aware that the government spent more than $100 million to secure the property and he said he’s not trying to interfere in the government’s ability to enforce immigration laws.
“The court does not cast these concerns aside but notes that a pause in the warehouse conversion project will do nothing more than prolong the status quo until more robust briefing and a hearing can occur, which is, of course, the very point of a TRO,” he said in his ruling.
