An agricultural property a few miles from Gilroy, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area, has become the latest flashpoint in the ongoing clash between California and the Trump Administration. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to stop the construction of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility that local officials say could be used to temporarily detain migrants as part of the federal government’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeks to permanently block the project on Holsclaw Road, in an unincorporated area southeast of Gilroy. The plaintiffs argue that the federal government moved forward with construction without completing required environmental reviews, adequately consulting state and local authorities, or complying with restrictions designed to preserve agricultural land.
According to public records, the Department of Homeland Security leased nearly 25 acres from a subsidiary of Elmwood Capital Group under a 20-year agreement valued at $26.5 million. The property includes three buildings, greenhouses, and extensive farmland. Although ICE has maintained that the project is intended as an operations office, state and local officials believe the facility could function as a short-term detention center capable of holding up to 150 people.
“Under this Administration, we’ve seen ICE offices have become mini-detention centers, despite being unequipped for long-term holding,” Bonta said in a statement. “That’s unacceptable.”
“President Trump’s mass detention and deportation campaign has led to cruel, inhumane, and unacceptable conditions at immigration holding and detention facilities across California,” he added. “But instead of working to improve conditions at these facilities, instead of enforcing ICE’s own detention standards, the Trump Administration is trying to jam through a new facility on a community that doesn’t want it.”
The lawsuit argues that the project violates several federal and state laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and California’s Williamson Act, which preserves agricultural land through land-use restrictions in exchange for tax benefits.
According to the plaintiffs, the federal government should have completed either an environmental assessment or a full environmental impact statement before signing the lease and beginning construction. They also argue that the property is located in an area that supports threatened and endangered species and is protected for exclusive agricultural use.
The complaint further alleges that the development could damage wildlife habitats, place additional strain on local drinking water, wastewater, and road infrastructure, and result in the permanent loss of protected farmland.
Another central issue in the case is the alleged lack of transparency. Santa Clara County officials contend they were never properly consulted about the project and that the only formal communication they received was a one-paragraph letter sent in June 2023 in which the federal government described its plans as “office and operations space.”
“Part of the problem here is that they are trying to move forward with this project with as little transparency as possible, and hoping that nobody notices, nobody catches on to the details,” Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said during a press conference in San Jose. “So, part of what our lawsuit will do is it will force that transparency to occur.”
The lawsuit also raises concerns about environmental safety at the site. According to the plaintiffs, agricultural research companies that previously occupied the property generated hazardous waste that may not have been properly disposed of.
“The federal government’s apparent failure to address —much less mitigate— these risks endanger the construction workers building the site, detainees and employees who will be located at the site, and the environment beneath and surrounding the site,” the complaint states.
Opposition to the project has grown in recent months. Residents and community groups have staged protests since learning of the construction plans, while the neighboring Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in late May to oppose the facility.
The lawsuit is the latest in a long series of legal battles between California and the Trump Administration. According to Bonta, it is the 71st lawsuit his office has filed against the federal government since Trump returned to the White House. Santa Clara County, meanwhile, is currently involved in 11 active cases against the administration.
“Since President Trump took office, the County of Santa Clara has made clear that we won’t tolerate a federal government that abuses the law and jeopardizes the rights and well-being of our immigrant communities,” LoPresti said.
Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security has commented on the lawsuit.
