A federal court in San Jose has approved a temporary halt to construction of a proposed ICE detention center in Gilroy, California, following a lawsuit by Santa Clara County and the state. The agreement extends deadlines for ICE to respond to legal challenges that allege violations of environmental laws and improper land use, while raising questions about federal versus local authority.
A drone view captured a potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Gilroy, California, on May 29, 2026. The existence of the project came to light through news reports based on federal property-procurement documents, as both ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have declined to officially acknowledge it.
A joint agreement filed in federal court in San Jose on Monday detailed that ICE voluntarily paused construction and development activities at the site, which is located on Santa Clara County land near the intersection of Highway 101 and Highway 152. The pause is set to last until September 9. The court filing described the temporary stoppage as a compromise, granting ICE additional time to address a 289-page lawsuit and an 807-page injunction request filed by the county and state.
Originally, ICE's response to the lawsuit was due August 24, and its response to the injunction motion was due July 13. Under the new schedule, the response to the lawsuit is now due September 30, and the response to the injunction motion is due August 12. The county and state initiated the lawsuit on June 10, followed by the motion for a temporary injunction on June 24.
The agreement requests a hearing on the injunction request between August 26 and September 9, and Judge Eumi Lee scheduled it for September 8 at 2 p.m. The dispute centers on allegations that the facility would violate federal environmental laws due to the lack of an environmental assessment or impact statement before the lease was signed and construction began. Additionally, the lawsuit claims the project conflicts with federal immigration law because the land is zoned exclusively for agricultural use and is near habitat for endangered and threatened species.
State and county officials also accuse the Trump administration of secrecy and of violating the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act by proceeding without meaningful input from state or local authorities. A key legal issue is whether the facility would be operated directly by the federal government or by a private contractor. Legal experts note that the Constitution's supremacy clause likely grants the federal government broad authority to override state and local opposition if it runs the facility itself.
However, if a private operator is involved, the county and state may have stronger grounds to challenge the project using local zoning, environmental, and other regulations
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