Report: SLC warehouse buy for massive ICE detention center under review
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The warehouse at 6020 W. 300 South in Salt Lake City. Screenshot: Google Maps
The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing a wave of recent warehouse purchases — including one in Salt Lake City for $145 million — amid growing scrutiny, according to multiple reports.
Why it matters: The review throws plans for a massive Salt Lake City detention center — the first of its kind in Utah — into question.
- DHS is also pausing new warehouse acquisitions, per the Associated Press.
The big picture: Recent warehouse purchases made under embattled former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem have been met with pushback from city leaders and residents nationwide.
- Neither Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, who's vowed to fight it, nor GOP Gov. Spencer Cox, who's long advocated for such a facility, was informed of the purchase in advance.
What they're saying: Ellie Menlove, policy director for the ACLU of Utah, told Axios she hasn't seen any indication that ICE would back off from opening a detention center in the state, especially after paying top dollar for the warehouse.
- "We are exploring all of our options at this point," Menlove said when asked if the ACLU will pursue legal action to halt the project.
- The organization has cited reports of human rights violations, severe medical neglect and preventable deaths in ICE detention facilities nationwide.
In a statement to the Associated Press, DHS said, "As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals."
- ICE did not respond to Axios' request for comment.
Catch up quick: Following ICE's purchase, the Salt Lake City Council capped water use in nonresidential buildings in an attempt to kneecap the project.
- In a virtual meeting with federal immigration officials last week, Mendenhall said she learned the nearly 25-acre "mega center" would hold up to 10,000 people, and that work on the site was expected to begin in the coming weeks and months.
- Officials did not commit to a city review of the building and did not provide information on potential environmental or traffic impacts, she said in a statement.
- Meanwhile, ICE is seeking private office space for employees in West Valley City.
What we're watching: Menlove said research indicates that immigration enforcement and arrests increase when a detention center opens nearby.
- "One of this capacity and this size shows the scale that they imagine increasing immigration enforcement here in Utah and throughout the West," she said.