SALT LAKE CITY — Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning on creating a “mega center” at its recently purchased warehouse in Salt Lake City.
About two weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that it purchased a $145 million warehouse to build a detention facility. The mayor and city council members have voiced strong opposition to the center in Utah’s capital city. Last week, Mendenhall said she spoke to senior ICE officials in a 30-minute virtual call.
“I asked if they plan to coordinate with Salt Lake City regarding changes to the building and ‘life and safety’ measures the city typically enforces through building codes," Mendenhall said in her written statement. "They said they plan to consult our fire marshal on these issues but did not commit to any other City review on the building. They did not provide information about the anticipated environmental and traffic impacts to the area, nor did they have specific information on utility needs for the site."
Salt Lake City Council chair Alejandro Puy, whose district this facility is in, said he was not part of the call but was briefed by city administration soon after.
"It's shocking to think that this is even bigger than we thought, and they haven’t thought about water, they haven’t thought about sewage, they haven’t thought about the vehicle impacts, how we are going to handle all of that to the businesses around here,” Puy said.
WATCH: Arrests made after site of proposed ICE detention facility vandalized in Salt Lake City
Mendenhall’s statement said ICE plans to house 7,500 to 10,000 detainees at the site, representing “a hub in the ‘hub and spoke’ model.”
"I’m going to use the right word for this: it's a warehouse, which is not how we are supposed to treat people,” Puy said.
Puy said he is also concerned about the impact on nearby businesses and attracting new ones.
“Unfortunately, we have not been involved in any of this, so it’s very disappointing,” added Puy.
This property is also part of the Northwest Quadrant project of the Utah Inland Port Authority. Their role is to increase economic output and transportation logistics within an area.
"We don’t control things like zoning or permitting, but we do control certain property tax dollars that allow us to optimize what’s happening in the area,” explained Inland Port executive director Ben Hart.
Hart said they still have questions about how this could impact the economy and attracting business.
"We're going to have to understand what that impact truly is,” Hart said. “I think as we get more details, we'll be able to better assess what’s going to happen in the northwest quadrant. We know we obviously work with the existing prison, but we've been able to work with that. So, our goal is to make sure that what we're doing in the northwest quadrant comes to fruition."
Puy said they still hope to work with ICE as construction could begin in the next weeks and months.
"The city has not closed the door. We've been always at the door waiting for them to show up. The city is here to negotiate, to talk, to figure out what they want to do,” he said.
