\u201cMaximum occupancy of the facility will be determined once remodeling is complete,\u201d U.S. attorneys wrote in the filing.<\/p>\n
Revelations about the planned facility, first reported by\u00a0this news organization in May, have sent shockwaves<\/a> throughout the Bay Area, fueling concerns that ICE may be preparing to expand the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation campaign locally. San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight later uncovered blueprints for the facility<\/a> that outlined plans for an immigration center that would include detainee processing areas, as well as interview and holding rooms.<\/p>\n The new construction work would add more office space within an existing building, create a sally port to provide entry to an outdoor holding area and introduce perimeter fencing, according to the new filing.<\/p>\n The document confirms that ICE is relying on the planned facility at 7240 Holsclaw Road to buttress local immigration enforcement operations. It warns that if the facility is delayed, such operations could face disruptions given that the lease for ICE\u2019s Morgan Hill field office is set to expire later this month.<\/p>\n The lawsuit<\/a>, filed in June, alleges the federal government illegally bypassed environmental laws, local zoning rules and other statutes in advancing the Holsclaw project. A hearing to consider plaintiff\u2019s preliminary injunction seeking a court order to block construction work as the case proceeds is set for Sept. 8 at San Jose\u2019s federal courthouse. Federal officials already agreed to temporarily halt the work until the hearing takes place.<\/p>\n Responding to the filing, state and county officials expressed confidence in their lawsuit.<\/p>\n \u201cThe federal government wants the court to endorse an act-now-think-later approach to a development that will have a profound and lasting negative impact on the environment and the community,\u201d representatives of Bonta and LoPresti told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n In their filing, U.S. attorneys argue the project should be exempt from federal environmental review requirements because the 25-acre parcel already houses an office building, and the proposed ICE facility will not significantly change how the land has been used.<\/p>\n The complaint that undergirds the June lawsuit claims that decades of agricultural research at the site has likely left behind hazardous materials that could be disturbed by development work. But federal officials contend there is no evidence of continued contamination, and they also question why local authorities have waited until now to address the problem if the environmental threat is so severe.<\/p>\n \u201cPlaintiffs\u2019 own brief alleges that they knew the prior owners of the Holsclaw Property engaged in pesticide research and mismanaged hazardous materials at the site for decades, apparently without Plaintiffs attempting to shut down those businesses,\u201d the filing reads. State and county officials have alleged the project was advanced in secrecy, violating federal laws requiring consultations with local authorities.<\/p>\n But the filing also contends that a leasing agent for the property owner \u2014 an LLC belonging to development firm Elmwood Capital Group \u2014 contacted county officials by early 2023 about the possibility the land would be leased to the federal government. County officials responded that \u201cthere should be no zoning problems with the federal government\u2019s planned use,\u201d according to the federal government\u2019s account.<\/p>\n Local advocates who have organized under the banner of the ICE Out of Gilroy Coalition expressed skepticism about the federal government\u2019s description in the filing of the planned uses for the facility.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe for a second that they\u2019re only going to be housing 10 people at any given moment,\u201d Huy Tran, executive director of Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, part of the coalition, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWith (the Department of Homeland Security) operating the way it does, with ICE operating the way it does, this kind of appears to be the mantra: \u2018If they build it, they will fill it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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