SALT LAKE CITY — Protesters lined the street in front of what they believe could be the site of a future ICE detention center in Salt Lake City, hoping to catch officials during a visit they claimed to be taking place Friday morning.
The warehouse on the corner of 6800 West and 1000 North, just west of Salt Lake City International Airport, currently sits unoccupied.
"We have heard that a detention center may be coming to SLC for months now, and no one has known where it might be, but this all started lining up yesterday," explained protest organizer T.J. Young.
A crew from our Scripps News partners in Kansas City captured video of agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security touring an empty warehouse in that city on Thursday.
FOX 13 News drove around to the opposite side of the warehouse, where we noticed several black SUVs and people inside the building. Two men came to the door, with one saying he was not allowed to speak with anyone who was not there for the "site visit,” and remained tight-lipped when asked to share more information.
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The protest follows the ongoing unrest in Minnesota following the shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent.
"Not just 'Not Here' but nowhere. Because there is no difference between here and Minnesota. There is no difference between here and Chicago. There is no difference when the people of the United States are oppressed," shared Rev. Phyllis Spiegel with the Episcopal Diocese of Utah.
FOX 13 News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to ask about alleged leaked documents that claim there are plans for a large detention facility in Salt Lake City. The agency responded, "We have no new detention centers to announce at this time."
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Despite the uncertainty surrounding the warehouse's future, community members continued to stand in front of the building.
"I don't know if it'll create the change that were looking for, but it sure as heck worth being out here regardless of whether ICE and state-level officials have what it takes to come out and guide when they say they will," said a protester named Peter.
The Minneapolis shooting has sparked protests across Utah and the country.
"There has been an escalation of violence by federal ICE immigration officials in other cities," said Young. "We are not looking for violence today. We are here for the peace of the community and their peace of mind and to let them know we believe in their constitutional rights and human rights.”
