{"id":458389,"date":"2026-09-09T16:52:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T16:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/458389\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T16:52:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T16:52:30","slug":"federal-judge-postpones-ruling-on-gilroy-ice-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/458389\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal judge postpones ruling on Gilroy ICE facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

A federal judge appeared skeptical Tuesday of the government\u2019s argument that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility proposed near Gilroy<\/a> would not significantly change the property\u2019s use, but postponed until next week a ruling on whether to halt construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me how a change from agricultural research to immigrant detention is not a change in use?\u201d U.S. District Judge Eumi K. Lee asked during the hearing. \u201cIn my experience, an office versus a holding center are very different things.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Contra Costa County adopts anti-ICE policy<\/a><\/p>\n

Following the arguments, Lee said she would issue her ruling next Tuesday. She ordered that no activity take place at the site in the meantime.<\/p>\n

Santa Clara County\u2019s lead attorney said the hearing left him encouraged about the county\u2019s chances of prevailing.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though we don\u2019t have a final ruling yet from the court, the signs that we heard today in the hearing are incredibly encouraging,\u201d said Tony LoPresti, county counsel for Santa Clara. \u201cIt is the wrong place for this facility. This should have never been proposed here, and it should certainly not proceed here.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, Lee issued a tentative ruling indicating that she was inclined to halt work on the facility<\/a> while a lawsuit brought by state and county authorities<\/a> proceeds. Lee said California and Santa Clara County were likely to succeed on their claim that the project violates the National Environmental Policy Act.<\/p>\n

California and Santa Clara County sued ICE in U.S. District Court in San Jose on June 10, claiming federal officials skirted environmental laws, ignored local land-use restrictions and failed to consult with state or county leaders before moving ahead. The state and county are seeking a court order permanently shutting down the project.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, they asked the court for a preliminary injunction halting work<\/a> until the lawsuit is resolved.<\/p>\n

An eventual finding that the facility violates federal environmental law would not necessarily mean the court would permanently shut down the project as the state and county have requested, LoPresti said.<\/p>\n

ICE said in a court filing last month<\/a> that the facility just east of Highway 101 could hold about 10 detainees at a time but acknowledged the number could be higher. The agency disputed claims by local officials that it could be used to detain up to 150 people.<\/p>\n

\"AA drone view of a potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Gilroy, Calif., on Thursday, May 14, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s arguments centered largely on whether the project was subject to federal environmental review.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for the county argued that construction would threaten to release hazardous materials from the property\u2019s previous owner, an agricultural research firm. They also said the facility\u2019s operations would overload its septic system. Those factors could put nearby communities and wildlife at risk, according to Santa Clara County Deputy County Counsel Rajiv Narayan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very serious likely harms afoot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Federal attorneys disputed those claims, arguing that the county already knew hazardous materials might be present at the site and that the expected increase in occupancy was not significant.<\/p>\n

Stacey Bosshardt, an attorney representing landowner ECG 6 LLC, called the county\u2019s claims \u201ccontrived\u201d and \u201ca stalking horse for their real objection: the (Trump) administration\u2019s immigration policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attorneys opposing the injunction also argued that the project was exempt from federal environmental review because it did not represent a significant change in the property\u2019s use.<\/p>\n

Before the hearing, dozens of community members, faith leaders and public officials rallied against the proposed facility, carrying signs calling for \u201cICE Out\u201d of Gilroy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a community that will not allow our neighbors \u2026 to be turned into targets of surveillance, detention or fear,\u201d said Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, whose district includes Gilroy. \u201cWe will defend our home \u2026 Together we can and will protect our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SantaSanta Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong, left, cheers as San Jose councilmember Peter Ortiz speaks during a press conference before a case hearing between Santa Clara County and ICE at the Federal Courthouse in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"PeoplePeople hold signs during an press conference about an ICE center being built in Gilroy at the Federal Courthouse in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"888888 Taiko drums stand outside during an press conference about an ICE center being built in Gilroy outside the Federal Courthouse in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"PeoplePeople cheer with Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong, center, during a press conference before a case hearing between Santa Clara County and ICE at the Federal Courthouse in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"ReligiousReligious representatives walk into the Federal Courthouse before a hearing about the ICE center being built in Gilroy at the Federal Courthouse in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"PeoplePeople hold up signs as Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas speaks during a press conference before a case hearing between Santa Clara County and ICE at the Federal Courthouse in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A federal judge appeared skeptical Tuesday of the government\u2019s argument that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility proposed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":458390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[184,861,7,8,409,1312,138,187,2871,14,181,23,100,2944,13,385,88,90,89,198,200,2442,1695],"class_list":["post-458389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-bay-area","tag-bay-area-crime","tag-california","tag-california-news","tag-city-politics","tag-courts","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-gilroy","tag-ice","tag-immigration","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-photos-and-videos","tag-politics","tag-regional","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-south-bay","tag-south-bay-crime","tag-trump-administration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}