More than 20 towns with large warehouses have become hidden targets of the $45 billion Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Expanding detention centers. Some communities complain that ICE doesn’t tell them anything until it buys space for thousands of detainees. In some cases, warehouse owners refuse to sell.
Look at some sites:
Local officials were told nothing before ICE purchased a 418,000-square-foot (38,833-square-meter) warehouse in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise for $70 million, state Attorney General Chris Mayes said in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Documents ICE later filed that the Department of Homeland Security estimates it will spend $150 million to rehabilitate the facility into a 1,500-bed processing site.
A TV reporter In Orlando, private contractors and federal officials were spotted last month touring a 439,945-square-foot (40,872-square-meter) industrial warehouse. David Venturella, a senior adviser to ICE, told a WFTV reporter that the tour was “exploratory.”
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a statement that the federal government has not contacted the city and that it has no legal options to stop the potential ICE facility.
ICE purchased a massive warehouse in Social Circle for $128.6 million. Documents submitted to the city by the Department of Homeland Security show it has plans to build two other buildings as well. Combined, they will total 2.3 million square feet (213,677 square metres).
There are also plans to convert a warehouse in Oakwood into an ICE processing facility, though no instrument has been filed, Republican U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde said in a statement. City Manager B.R. White said his first indication that a deal was imminent came when the warehouse supervisor told the city inspector that he had been instructed to vacate the work site to make room for the new owners — the federal government.
After the city of Merrillville raised concerns about ICE touring a new 275,000-square-foot (25,548-square-meter) warehouse, owner Opus Holding LLC sent a letter stating She doesn’t negotiate With federal property officials. Opus was limited in what it could share due to legal issues, the letter said.
ICE has purchased a depot about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Baltimore for $102.4 million, a deed signed last month shows. The act has been discovered before Salt Fund ProjectMaryland ICE.
Washington County officials said on Facebook mail That the Department of Homeland Security had previously notified them that it was considering purchasing the warehouse for use “as a new ICE processing facility in Baltimore.” The county commissioners later died resolution To support ICE activities.
ICE announced the purchase of a facility in Romulus following the completion of the transaction. The city responded in a Facebook After officials expressed concern about “lack of advance notice.”
Warehouse owners in the Minneapolis suburbs of Woodbury and Shakopee have withdrawn from potential ICE deals after a public outcry, according to local officials.
Republican US Senator Roger Wicker to publish That Noem agreed to look elsewhere after local elected officials and zoning officials opposed a potential detention center in the town of Byhalia.
After weeks of public pressure, developer Platform Ventures announced it will not move forward with the sale of a massive warehouse in Kansas City.
Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte sparred with federal officials after Immigration and Customs Enforcement unveiled plans to spend $158 million to convert a warehouse in Merrimack into a 500-bed processing center.
The case came to a head when interim ICE Director Todd Lyons testified that DHS “worked with Gov. Ayotte” and provided her with an economic impact summary.
Ayoot He said The assertion was “simply not true.” She said the summary was sent hours after Lyons testified. The document incorrectly refers to “ripple effects on the Oklahoma economy” and revenue generated by state sales and income taxes, none of which exist in New Hampshire.
Roxbury said Friday that ICE has closed on a warehouse sale even though it offered tax breaks to the owner to stop the purchase.
There were no ownership documents yet available online showing the sale price. The announcement came just two days after ICE said it had made a “mistake” when it previously announced the purchase.
“Let’s be clear: the Town of Roxbury will not passively accept this outcome,” the mayor and City Council wrote in a news release.
ICE said Tuesday it made a mistake when it announced the purchase of a vacant warehouse in Chester. New York State Assemblyman Brian Maher said Friday that ICE was no longer considering establishing the facility.
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt Announce Last month, the landlords informed him they were no longer dealing with DHS about the potential acquisition or lease of a warehouse.
The Department of Homeland Security purchased 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 the Department of Homeland Security’s plans to convert warehouses in rural areas of eastern Pennsylvania into immigration detention and processing centers.
In the El Paso suburb of Socorro, ICE paid $122.8 million for three warehouses totaling 826,780 square feet (76,810 square metres). ICE also paid $66.1 million for a 639,595-square-foot (59,420 m2) warehouse in San Antonio. The mayors of both cities oppose this.
However, another deal was foiled in the state after backlash from the community. In the Dallas suburb of Hutchins, a real estate company confirmed it had been contacted about one of its properties but would not sell or lease any buildings to DHS for use as a detention facility. California-based Majestic Realty did not provide any explanation in its statement.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall expressed her gratitude in her State of the City report address The owners of the warehouse that ICE was eyeing as a detention facility have announced plans not to sell or lease the property to the federal government.
Jim Pattison Real Estate Development said in a statement last month that it became aware of the intended use of a warehouse on the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, after agreeing to sell to a US government contractor. After threats of a boycott, the Vancouver-based company announced that the deal “will not proceed.”
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Associated Press reporters Holly Ramer, Isabella Vollmert and Mark Levy contributed to this report.