Maryland AG Sues To Block 'Inhumane' 1,500-Person ICE Detention Warehouse

The Trump administration is bent on executing its mass deportation programme, although there is growing criticism of how they are carrying it out. One of these is the transformation of an industrial warehouse in Maryland into a detention facility, resulting in the legal action by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown.

Brown announced last week that he had sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to block work on the facility located in Williamsport. The Maryland Attorney General pointed out how the federal government failed to properly conduct an environmental review or hear what the public had to say about it.

In the lawsuit, it was pointed out how DHS and ICE disregarded federal laws and were only concerned about carrying out Trump's nationwide detention centre agenda, CBS News reported.

'We're asking the court to require a proper environmental review with full public input, and we're asking the court to declare that what the administration did here was unlawful,' Brown stated.

Follow Due Process

Brown also pointed out how Maryland was never consulted on the plans to put up the detention facility near Hagerstown. It was mentioned in the suit how ICE purchased the 54-acre facility in January for about £72 million (US$102.4 million).

Further, the property was originally designed to serve as a commercial facility. It includes a warehouse, offices, toilets and urinals. However, Brown feels that this may not be sufficient, especially with the planned holding of 1,500 people at a time.

Hence, Brown stressed that DHS and ICE clearly violated the National Environmental Policy Act when they bought the property without the proper environmental assessments required.

'Maryland has a strong commitment to protecting people from inhumane, unsanitary, and dangerous detention,' Brown said.

Degrading, Inhumane Conditions

Concern over the matter was raised after photos of the fleet of ICE vehicles were shared by the Hagerstown Rapid Response group. They believe that the deployment was the aftermath of the surge of agents in Minnesota.

A person who was able to personally tour the facility was Democratic Rep. April McClain Delaney. She did not hold back on what she saw and made it clear that Maryland did not want another detention facility in the region.

'I have personally toured ICE's Baltimore holding facility and witnessed firsthand the degrading and inhumane conditions in which individuals are detained. Marylanders do not want another one of these detention warehouses in our communities,' Delaney stated.

Worrying Tales Of Poorly-Maintained Detention Centres

The discovery is hardly surprising, especially if past reports on other government detention centres are to be considered. One heartbreaking scene was at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, where detainees, including children, were dealing with inhumane conditions, the Associated Press reported.

Although ICE officials claim that the centres could be likened to a summer camp, this was not the case. Dr Pamela McPherson, a psychiatrist who was retained in 2014 by DHS before being left out by the Trump administration, was irritated by this claim.

'Having a clean place to sleep, having food — that's not the same thing as having family and community,' she said.

From finding worms in food to having to live in cramped spaces, these poor living conditions are something that most do not want to see. The areas where the detention centres are located are arguably inhumane, something that the current administration appears to be hardly concerned about.