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By Keith Menconi, San José Spotlight
This story was originally published by San José Spotlight.
Federal authorities have agreed to temporarily pause construction work on the apparent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility taking shape in south Santa Clara County.
The delay is the product of a procedural agreement struck in the lawsuit brought last month by Santa Clara County and California to block the project. Under the agreement, filed Monday with the Court of the Northern District of California, federal attorneys said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will pause “construction and development activities” at the Holsclaw Road property until Sept. 9.
If approved by the court, the compromise measure grants DHS more time to respond to a recent injunction seeking an immediate halt to construction work on the 25-acre parcel on unincorporated Santa Clara County land just east of Gilroy.
In exchange, the court granted a request from plaintiffs, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County, to move up the hearing date to consider their injunction. The matter will be heard Sept. 8.
Construction and demolition at the site was first observed by a county investigator in April, according to court documents. County officials had expressed concern that the original hearing date of Oct. 7 would have allowed construction to continue for several more months without judicial review.
Originally, DHS would have had to file its response to the injunction by Monday. The agreement grants the agency an extra month.
“This pause in the construction, demolition and development at the site of the challenged ICE facility is a significant step towards protecting our people, our communities and our environment while the case remains ongoing,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “We will continue to vigorously litigate this case in court.”
State and county officials announced their lawsuit on June 10 arguing federal authorities have advanced the project at 7240 Holsclaw Road without conducting environmental reviews or consulting with state and local authorities, as required by law. It also maintains the facility violates zoning rules that reserve the property exclusively for agricultural uses.
Revelations about the facility, first reported by San José Spotlight in May, have sent shockwaves throughout the Bay Area, fueling concerns that ICE may be laying the groundwork for more extensive immigration enforcement operations in the region.
A representative for DHS repeated the agency’s claim that there is no intention to create a detention center at the location, with officials previously saying the land will be used for an office facility. The claim contradicts detailed blueprints which bear the logos for ICE and DHS that include detainee processing areas, as well as interview and holding rooms.
“This secret development is an urgent and serious concern for the community,” Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti told San José Spotlight. “Our motion for a preliminary injunction is a reflection of that urgency and severity — we need to be sure that construction stops during the course of this litigation.”
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