"The fight between the state of Maryland and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could easily have been about federalism, due process, or human rights as ICE moved to house hundreds of people inside a windowless warehouse with little notice to the surrounding community."
"Instead, it has proven to be about Appalachian springsnails—and a few other rare or endangered species, including freshwater mussels, fish, and crustaceans. These creatures may be surprisingly key to stopping a massive ICE detention warehouse from operating here in Maryland."
"As ICE began buying up warehouses earlier this year as part of a $38 billion plan to expand its detention footprint, communities across the country have found varying ways to push back."
A legal conflict in Maryland involves the planned construction of an ICE detention center near a habitat for endangered species, including the Appalachian springsnail. The state faces challenges in intervening against the federal government's actions. Communities nationwide are resisting ICE's expansion, with various local responses to similar situations. In Maryland, the state government has limited power to prevent the conversion of a recently purchased warehouse into a detention facility, highlighting tensions between federal authority and local environmental concerns.
Read at Slate Magazine
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