More than 20 cities with large warehouses have become secret targets for Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s $45 billion expansion of detention centers. Some communities complain that ICE won’t tell them anything until it buys space for thousands of detainees. In some cases, warehouse owners refuse to sell.
A look at some places:
Arizona
Local officials were told nothing before ICE bought the 418,000-square-foot (38,833-square-meter) warehouse in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise for $70 million, Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Documents later provided to ICE said the Department of Homeland Security estimated it would spend $150 million to retrofit the 1,500-bed facility.
Florida
A television reporter in Orlando spotted private contractors and federal officials walking through the 439,945-square-foot (40,872-square-meter) industrial warehouse last month. ICE Senior Counsel David Venturella told a WFTV reporter that the tour was “exploratory.”
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a statement that the city has not been contacted by the federal government and has no legal options to stop a possible ICE facility.
Georgia
ICE bought a massive warehouse in Social Circle for $128.6 million. Documents provided to the city by DHS show it also has plans for two more buildings. Together, they would total 2.3 million square feet (213,677 square meters).
There are also plans to convert the Oakwood warehouse into an ice processing facility, Republican U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde said in a statement, although no deed was provided. City Manager BR White said his first inkling that a deal was on the way came when the warehouse manager told a city inspector that he had been instructed to vacate the site to make way for the new owners – the federal government.
Indiana
After the city of Merrillville raised concerns about an ICE tour of the new 275,000-square-foot (25,548-square-meter) warehouse, owner Opus Holding LLC sent a letter saying it was not negotiating with federal officials about the property. The letter said Opus was limited in what it could share due to legal issues.
Maryland
ICE bought the warehouse about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Baltimore for $102.4 million, according to a contract signed last month. The deed was discovered by Project Salt Box, a Maryland ICE watchdog.
Officials in Washington County said in a Facebook post that DHS had notified them in advance that it was considering purchasing the warehouse for use as a “new ICE Baltimore processing facility.” County commissioners later passed a resolution supporting ICE’s activities.
Michigan
ICE announced its purchase of the Romulus facility after the deal was finalized. The city responded in a Facebook post that officials were concerned about a “lack of advance notice.”
Minnesota
Warehouse owners in the Minneapolis suburbs of Woodbury and Shakopee have backed out of possible deals with ICE after public outcry, according to local officials.
Mississippi
Republican Sen. Roger Wicker announced that Noem agreed to look elsewhere after local elected officials and zoning officials opposed a possible detention center in the town of Byhalia.
Missouri
After weeks of public pressure, developer Platform Ventures has announced it will not proceed with the sale of the massive Kansas City warehouse.
New Hampshire
Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte clashed with federal officials after ICE revealed plans to spend $158 million to convert a warehouse in Merrimack into a 500-bed processing center.
The issue came to a head when ICE Interim Director Todd Lyons testified that DHS “worked with Governor Ayotte” to provide her with a summary of the economic impacts.
Ayotte said the claim was “simply not true”. She said the summary was sent hours after Lyons testified. The document erroneously refers to “ripple effects on the Oklahoma economy” and revenue generated by state sales and income taxes, neither of which exist in New Hampshire.
New Jersey
Roxbury said Friday that ICE ended the sale of the warehouse despite offering the owner tax breaks to stop the purchase.
So far, no property documents have been available online to show the sale price. The announcement comes just two days after ICE said it made a “mistake” when it previously announced the purchase.
“Let’s be clear: Roxbury Township will not passively accept this outcome,” the mayor and town council wrote in a news release.
New York
ICE said Tuesday it made a mistake when it announced the purchase of an empty warehouse in Chester. New York State Assemblyman Brian Maher said Friday that ICE is no longer considering the facility.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt announced last month that the property owners had informed him they were no longer in contact with DHS about potentially acquiring or leasing the warehouse.
Pennsylvania
DHS bought a warehouse in Tremont Township for $119.5 million and one in Upper Bern Township for $87.4 million. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said his administration will fight DHS plans to turn warehouses in rural parts of eastern Pennsylvania into immigration detention and processing centers.
Texas
In the El Paso suburb of Socorro, ICE paid $122.8 million for a trio of 826,780-square-foot (76,810-square-meter) warehouses. ICE also paid $66.1 million for a 639,595-square-foot (59,420-square-meter) warehouse in San Antonio. The mayors of both cities are against it.
However, another deal in the state was scuttled after community opposition. In the Dallas suburb of Hutchins, a real estate company confirmed it has been contacted about one of its properties, but will not sell or lease any buildings to DHS for use as detention facilities. California-based Majestic Realty Co. she gave no explanation in her statement.
Utah
In her State of the City address, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall expressed gratitude that the owners of the warehouse that ICE was seeking as a detention facility announced plans not to sell or lease the property to the federal government.
Virginia
Jim Pattison Developments said in a statement last month that it learned of the intended use for the warehouse in suburban Richmond, Va., after it agreed to sell to a U.S. government contractor. After threats of a boycott, the Vancouver-based company announced that the transaction “will not proceed.”
