Overview
- A U.S. district judge granted a preliminary injunction that reinstated the revoked permits and barred the county from applying the 2022 Maryland notice rule to the Meadowridge Road property, with the order issued Monday.
- The court found Genesis likely to prevail on a Supremacy Clause claim by ruling that applying the state statute to this federally leased project probably conflicts with federal authority.
- Genesis GSA Strategic One says it has spent about $21 million on the conversion and is incurring roughly $5,000 per day in costs while work was halted, and the injunction allows the company to finish construction pending the lawsuit.
- Howard County officials and local leaders have said they revoked the permits because the project did not go through the 180-day public notice process and because they oppose private detention facilities in the county.
- The case tests how far local rules can constrain federal immigration operations and arrives as federal agencies expand detention and field office capacity, a trend that could shape other local fights over similar sites.