READING — Maryland’s attorney general is suing the federal government to prevent ICE from converting a warehouse into an immigration detention center.
But in Pennsylvania, where the Department of Homeland Security and ICE are planning two similar projects in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, it remains unclear if state officials will do the same.
A spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said the proposed detention centers and processing facilities would would be “violating the rights of Pennsylvanians, increasing utility costs, harming our economy, and making the Commonwealth less safe,” and that the administration “will aggressively pursue every option to prevent these facilities from opening and needlessly harming the good people of Pennsylvania.”
However, the administration did not directly address whether it would pursue a lawsuit.
Maryland’s attorney general alleges DHS and ICE violated a federal environmental protection law and procedural standards when buying warehouses in the state.
The suit largely focuses on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which mandates that federal agencies assess the environmental impact of proposed projects — such as approving permits, constructing highways and other government-owned facilities, or other “major federal actions” — before initiating them.
The suit also alleges that the federal government “failed to exhibit the reasoned decision-making” required by a federal administrative procedure law.
ICE had previously said in a memo sent to New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte that it was complying with NEPA when building all its detention infrastructure.
The agency has not released details on how it plans to use the warehouses it purchased in Berks and Schuylkill Counties. ICE has also not responded to specific questions about whether it has already conducted engineering and environmental assessments for the properties.
“Sites will undergo community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement.
Two environmental lawyers who spoke to Spotlight PA said they’re unsure if ICE broke NEPA requirements when it bought the Pennsylvania warehouses. They weighed in on condition of anonymity because of the political nature of the issue.
ICE could argue that purchasing warehouses doesn’t qualify as a major federal action and thus does not fall under NEPA’s jurisdiction. Another possibility is that ICE argues it still has time to conduct an environmental impact study before the project significantly gets underway and the government makes an “irreversible commitment” under federal law.
One difference between Pennsylvania and Maryland is that the former’s attorney general, Dave Sunday, is a Republican.
A spokesperson for Sunday declined to comment on “any potential actions.”
Sunday wouldn’t necessarily have to sign off on any suit, however. The Shapiro administration told Spotlight PA that the Commonwealth Attorneys Act gives the governor legal authority to represent his own office and state agencies in litigation.
The two environmental lawyers also told Spotlight PA that nothing stops Pennsylvania from pursuing a suit similar to Maryland’s, whether one is filed by Shapiro or Sunday.
This wouldn’t be the first time Shapiro has sued the federal government, while Sunday took no action.
Shapiro has sued the Trump administration over a dozen times since the president’s second term, including to unfreeze $2 billion in federal funds last year after Sunday did not sue.
DHS’s quiet purchase of two vacant warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill Counties earlier this month sparked anxiety among local residents and caught local officials off guard.
In recent county and municipal meetings in both places, some residents have urged local elected leaders to take stronger actions to block DHS’s plans to convert the warehouses into massive processing and detention facilities. Meanwhile, state, county, and municipal officials have warned that ICE’s proposals could strain already limited township resources.
The purchase of the warehouse in Upper Bern Township, Berks County, was recorded on Feb. 2. The purchase of the former Big Lots distribution center in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County, officially went into effect on Jan. 29.
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R., Pa.), whose district includes the sites where the two centers are planned, confirmed in a statement last week that the Tremont facility is intended to serve as a detention center and that the Berks facility will operate as a processing center.