Congressman Swalwell condemns deportation case involving boy taken from hearing aid
A Bay Area mother and her two children were deported after routine immigration, leaving her young son separated from his hearing aids.
WASHINGTON—A federal judge in Maryland on Wednesday (March 11) issued a temporary restraining order halting construction on an immigration detention center that the state had sued over environmental concerns.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown argued that President Donald Trump’s administration did not conduct a proper environmental study or receive public input. When the state filed its lawsuit in February, Brown said the federal government spent more than $100 million to convert a 54-acre warehouse in Washington County, Maryland, into a detention center that could hold 1,500 people at a time.
U.S. District Judge Brendan Herson granted Maryland’s request for an injunction to immediately halt construction for up to 14 days while the court considers Maryland’s broader legal challenges.
“The State has shown that there is a strong likelihood that Defendants failed to comply with their obligations under the (National Environmental Policy Act),” the judge wrote. “Defendants do not appear to have ‘seriously considered’ the potential environmental impacts of their plans for the Williamsport warehouse.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which has federal oversight of immigration, previously said DHS was prepared to work with state authorities to expand capacity. The state also previously denied Maryland’s argument that the lawsuit was based on environmental concerns.
The Trump administration’s push for immigration enforcement and deportations has drawn widespread condemnation from advocacy groups, calling it a violation of free speech and due process rights. Rights experts also say enforcement policies create a dangerous environment, especially for minorities.
President Trump has aimed his actions to stop illegal immigration and improve domestic security.
Brown ruled in victory.
“Temporarily, this ruling will stop the construction of this large-scale immigration detention center while our case continues to play out in court. We cannot allow DHS and ICE to rush through the appropriate legal process in their haste to increase deportations,” Brown said.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Michael Perry)
