ICE Purchases Warehouses for Massive Detention Center Expansion

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expanding its detention infrastructure by acquiring several large industrial sites across the U.S., including facilities in Texas and Georgia. In San Antonio, ICE purchased a 640,000-square-foot facility on the East Side for over $66 million to create a 1,500-bed center. While officials from ICE and the Department of Homeland Security state the site will hold undocumented migrants convicted of serious crimes, local leaders and Democratic congressmen Greg Casar and Joaquin Castro condemned the purchase, arguing these facilities indiscriminately lock people up.

Parallel efforts are underway in other cities where scale and infrastructure are primary concerns. In Hutchins, Texas, a plan to convert a 1 million-square-foot warehouse into a 9,500-bed center faces opposition from Mayor Mario Vasquez and U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett, who warn the facility could nearly double the city's population. Similarly, the Department of Homeland Security is in escrow to buy a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse in Social Circle, Georgia. That facility could house 10,000 detainees, potentially tripling the population of the town.

Local officials in these communities have expressed feelings of helplessness, noting that federal agencies are not subject to city zoning regulations. Opponents in all three cities cite strained sewage systems, inadequate infrastructure, and the proximity of the centers to schools and parks as critical issues.