SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is looking to sell the Salt Lake City warehouse it purchased earlier this year to house an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, according to a new report.
The New York Times said the Salt Lake City warehouse is one of seven that the government is now trying to offload, either by selling the facilities or giving them to other federal agencies.
DHS originally purchased the warehouse just west of Salt Lake City International Airport for a reported $145 million.
According to the report, the warehouse plan, which was an initiative favored by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is no longer supported by current Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Eleven warehouses have already been purchased, with four still on schedule to become ICE detention centers. The remaining warehouses, including the one in Salt Lake City, are now subject to being sold.
Mayor Jenny Wilson calls ICE detention center 'egregiously offensive':
Earlier this month, Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County filed a lawsuit over the warehouse and the planned detention center, claiming it was "cloaked in secrecy" and violated federal laws.
When contacted by FOX 13 News, the office of Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson had no comment about the New York Times report.
Although neither Wilson nor Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall shared their thoughts on the report, the Utah Democratic Party called out DHS and ICE for their change of plans.
"Mass detention has no place in Utah, at any price," said the Utah Democratic Party. "ICE paid millions for an SLC warehouse, and may now sell or abandon it. This is fiscal recklessness and an insult to taxpayers.
"Let us be clear: ICE is not welcome here."
Besides Salt Lake CIty, the other locations where ICE is reportedly looking to unload its facilities are Romulus, Michigan, Social Circle, Georgia, Flowery Branch, Georgia, Hamburg, Pennsylvania, Tremont, Pennsylvania and Roxbury, New Jersey.
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