SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed it is selling its warehouse in Salt Lake City and abandoning plans to build a detention center, at least at that location.
In a court filing obtained by FOX 13 News, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it would no longer convert the warehouse on the city's west side to the proposed detention center.
Lawyers for Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County and the federal government announced it in a joint filing asking a federal judge to halt the litigation for the time being.
"...Defendants, through counsel, informed Plaintiffs that they no longer intend to convert the Salt Lake Warehouse into an immigration detention facility and instead intend to designate the Salt Lake Facility as excess property for disposition by the General Services Administration (“GSA”)," the filing said. "In light of this development, the parties have conferred and agree this case should be stayed..."
The agencies purchased the warehouse earlier this year for a reported $145 million, and immediately faced pushback from residents and political leaders due to its plans to create a detention center that was planned to hold up to 10,000 detainees.
In June, a New York Times report claimed the warehouse was one of seven that the government had planned to offload by either selling the facility or giving it to another federal agency.
The offices of Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson declined to comment to FOX 13 News on Wednesday, citing the ongoing litigation.
"I’m incredibly grateful to the community members who came together to stand against this facility. Their persistence, courage, and advocacy helped make this victory possible," House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said in statement to FOX 13 News. "But for many Utah families, the fear and uncertainty haven't gone away. We have to keep showing up, standing together, and fighting for our communities to make sure a facility like this never finds a home in our state."
Read the filing here:
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