The Trump administration is shifting course on its plan to convert warehouses into immigrant detention centers by conducting environmental reviews in the wake of mounting legal challenges.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has purchased commercial warehouses nationwide to expand detention capacity and support higher deportation rates, but the effort faces potential delays as courts and state officials challenge the projects under federal environmental law, The New York Times reported Monday.
The agency is holding about 58,000 immigrants in custody, well below its goal of reaching 100,000 beds, a shortfall that has driven the push to acquire and retrofit additional facilities.
The plan has drawn resistance from residents and officials in communities where the sites are located, as well as lawsuits in New Jersey, Michigan, Maryland and Arizona alleging the administration failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act.
In court filings, ICE officials said the warehouse projects were exempt from such reviews, citing factors including existing development at the sites and distance from environmentally sensitive areas.
Internal concerns within the Justice Department indicated the approach could leave the administration vulnerable to legal challenges, fears that were realized when a federal judge in Maryland blocked plans to convert a warehouse in Williamsport.
"That Maryland result changed their strategy," said Jamison E. Colburn, a professor of environmental law at Pennsylvania State University. He said the shift toward conducting reviews reflected an effort to avoid broader legal setbacks.
Federal officials now plan to carry out environmental assessments at at least two warehouse sites, according to documents obtained by The New York Times, a process experts said could take months.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has purchased 11 warehouses nationwide for about $1 billion.
In Maryland, state officials said the Williamsport project would harm environmental and public health interests, including nearby waterways connected to the Potomac River. ICE purchased the facility for about $100 million, with plans to house 500 to 1,500 immigrants.
District Judge Brendan Hurson said the agency failed to meet key requirements under federal environmental law, warning that converting a cargo facility into a large-scale detention center could strain local infrastructure, including the sewer system.
Homeland Security officials said the agency had complied with federal law and accused political opponents of using environmental challenges to delay the administration's deportation efforts.
The warehouse initiative is also intended to reduce reliance on private contractors and state-run facilities by increasing government-owned detention space. However, a senior U.S. official said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has expressed skepticism about expanding warehouse purchases.
Todd Lyons, acting head of ICE, told the House Appropriations Committee that Mullin is reviewing the agency's broader detention strategy.
"He is looking at our whole detention plan. We're making decisions based on if we're going to move forward at those locations," Lyons said.
Lyons said the facilities would be developed responsibly and meet agency standards.
"It's actually to be retrofitted to become a detention facility, one that we'll actually be proud of, one that would actually have standards," he said.
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