A Biden-appointed federal judge in San Jose has paused construction of a planned ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations facility outside Gilroy, California, the self-described “garlic capital of the world,” after the State of California and Santa Clara County argued the Trump administration skipped a full environmental review on land that once housed agricultural research labs.
U.S. District Judge Eumi K. Lee, nominated by Joe Biden and confirmed 50-49 in 2024, granted a preliminary injunction Friday.
Construction, demolition, and development at the 24.5-acre Holsclaw Road property stay frozen except for immediate safety work. The parties have until September 30 to try to agree on the exact scope of the order.
The order is the latest chapter in California’s campaign to use environmental statutes, zoning, and “intergovernmental cooperation” rules to slow interior immigration enforcement. Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti sued in June.
They claimed the General Services Administration and ICE treated a lease-and-rebuild project as a routine office relocation and rubber-stamped it with a one-page “categorical exclusion” form.
“President Trump’s mass detention and deportation campaign has led to cruel, inhumane, and unacceptable conditions at immigration holding and detention facilities across California. But instead of working to improve conditions at these facilities — instead of enforcing ICE’s own detention standards — the Trump Administration is trying to jam through a new facility on a community that doesn’t want it,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta back in June.
“Under this Administration, we’ve seen ICE offices have become mini-detention centers, despite being unequipped for long-term holding. That’s unacceptable. So is the secrecy surrounding the details of this project. But one thing is clear: ICE’s plans to construct a facility near Gilroy violates multiple federal laws. We’re suing to stop this project and protect the interests of California communities.”
The lawsuit claims that the federal government failed to conduct a “proper environmental review” under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) before breaking ground.
They whine that the 30-year history of agricultural research on the site left behind potential hazardous waste and that the planned facility, designed to temporarily process up to 150 detainees, might strain the local septic system.
Judge Lee swallowed the State’s arguments hook, line, and sinker, claiming that construction poses a “risk of hazardous substance releases” and ordering a halt to all development, according to the 23-page federal court order reviewed by The Gateway Pundit.
“Plaintiffs the State of California and the County of Santa Clara bring this action to require the Federal Government and a private developer to halt construction of an immigration enforcement and detainee holding facility in Gilroy, California… Plaintiffs submit that environmental harms are likely because the site of the proposed holding facility was used for 30 years to conduct agricultural research… The Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction…”
Never mind the fact that the property developer, ECG6 LLC, entered into a lawful 20-year lease with the General Services Administration (GSA) and explicitly agreed to handle any hazardous waste in strict accordance with federal law.
Never mind that federal officials made clear that the facility is desperately needed to replace an expired lease in nearby Morgan Hill and streamline law enforcement operations.
The developer, ECG6 LLC, an investment vehicle tied to Beverly Hills-based Elmwood Capital Group, signed a 20-year GSA lease in January 2025 worth up to about $26.6 million in rent, plus more than $8.6 million in reimbursable construction costs. ECG6 said it commissioned a lengthy environmental study that found chemicals within limits for non-residential use.
The firm did not put that report into the preliminary-injunction record. The court declined to take the company’s word for it. ECG6 asked for a $790,000 bond to cover delayed rent and loan interest. Lee set the bond at $1,000, citing public-interest litigation precedent.
Federal attorneys argued that the environmental risks touted by local California bureaucrats are completely exaggerated and far outweighed by the Federal Government’s urgent national security mission to enforce immigration laws.
Yet, Judge Lee dismissed these national security concerns, ruling that a temporary delay in law enforcement operations imposes “minimal burden” compared to theoretical runoff or septic system stress.
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