SALT LAKE CITY — In a letter obtained by FOX 13 News, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall formally requested a meeting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to discuss the agency's plans for a detention center in northern Utah.
Mendenhall's letter, which was addressed to acting ICE director Todd Lyons, said the city is seeking information about the intended use of the warehouse purchased last week by the agency. She added that the proposed detention facility would "take an enormous toll" on city water and sewer infrastructure, as well as put an "enormous strain on transportation and local roads in the area."
FOX 13 News was the first to report the completed sale of the warehouse situated west of Salt Lake City International Airport. In the following days, ICE confirmed that it would use the building as a detention facility to hold those rounded up by the agency, and claimed a financial benefit to the city. Mendenhall immediately fought back against the sale and the plans for the warehouse, promising legal intervention to stop its use.
ICE had said that it would conduct community impact studies to ensure no adverse effects on infrastructure or utilities. However, Mendenhall claimed that the Department of Homeland Security has not engaged with Salt Lake City on its plans.
"It is critical to communicate with Salt Lake City plans to operationalize and mitigate the detrimental and numerous community impacts it would create," the mayor wrote.
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Mendenhall cited the most vital of her concerns to be public safety, and said the city's police, fire and 911 departments "are already at maximum capacity serving our residents and businesses." The mayor said the detention facility could create a strain on public safety teams that would be diverted from helping those who live and work in the city.
"It is imperative that we know how DHS plans to staff, secure and protect the facility from a public safety perspective as well as fire prevention/response and emergency medical services," said Mendenhall.
The mayor added that the proposed ICE facility would have a "chilling effect" on the potential of the Utah Inland Port Authority area where the warehouse is located. She said that because the facility is now owned by the federal government, local entities would lose more than $1 million in property taxes.
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Republican Sen. John Curtis, himself a former mayor, appears to agree with Mendenhall's anger over being left out of ICE plans.
“Having served as a mayor, I understand firsthand the importance of zoning and strategic planning. Whether a project is as routine as a new hotel or as impactful as a detention facility, local engagement is a necessity in any instance," Curtis wrote. “The decision to move forward with this facility via back-door negotiations—bypassing input from local leaders—is shortsighted and likely counterproductive to supporting the strategic growth and long-term infrastructure plans of Salt Lake City’s west side."
Mendenhall gave ICE a March 27 deadline to respond to her request.
