SALT LAKE CITY — The debate over a lawsuit filed by Salt Lake City and County against DHS and ICE over a planned detention center near the airport spilled over into the county council chambers.
On Tuesday, for the first time since the lawsuit was filed, which claims a variety of different environmental and logistical issues for opposing the facility, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson did not hold back when explaining why she backed the county's fight.
“This is by far the most egregiously offensive proposal that I've ever seen,” said the mayor.
“I think, whether or not you want to be more deliberate around ICE enforcement or less, the idea of packing 7,500 and now 10,000 people into a warehouse that was designed to move UPS packages and freight is to me unforgivable.”
City and county officials have said they were never informed of the DHS decision to purchase the warehouse.
“Federal government should have to abide by the same health standards, water use management, sewer permitting as anybody else," added Wilson, "and to play the 'Hey, we're the feds, we can preempt that' card, is indefensible to me.”
Detention center lawsuit finds some support, pushback from GOP council members:
Shortly after the lawsuit was announced, the council's Republican caucus said they were also not informed. Not of the detention facility itself, but of the actual lawsuit. Council member Aimee Winder Newton questioned Wilson's decision to join forces with the city.
“We don't have Land Use Authority, we don't have really the regulatory authority that Salt Lake City [does]. Why jump on board with Salt Lake City on this, when this isn't maybe something that county taxpayers expected to pay for?” asked Winter Newton.
Wilson answered that the volume of people detained would make it a regional, not just city, impact, and added that she feels even Salt Lake City International Airport would be impacted.
Residents Dena Long and Cindy Thompson both spoke in support of the facility during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“I don't think the Republican Party knew. I don't think anyone knew until I knew... yesterday was the first we heard of it, and I was really surprised and not really happy with it," said Thompson.
“I think the policies need to change," added Long, "where Mayor Wilson needs to go ahead and advise [the] county council and needs to be discussed and more transparent, instead of her just running behind the scenes and doing whatever she pleases.”
