Detroit Area Lawmakers Push Back On Possible ICE Detention Center

Detroit-area lawmakers spoke out against a possible Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warehouse in metro Detroit.

Bloomberg reported the Trump administration is looking to buy 23 warehouses, including one in Romulus, to use as an immigration jail that will house undocumented immigrants.

The report did not specify exactly which facility federal officials were looking to purchase, but did note the Romulus site would hold 500 beds. Other sites could hold up to 9,500 beds, according to the report.

State Sen. Darrin Camilleri, whose District 4 includes Romulus, said Tuesday he has been in conversation with local officials and that there is "no concrete evidence" that any facility in the area is planned to be used as a detention center.

"...Let me be clear, Romulus and our surrounding communities do not want to see our neighbors detained and held unlawfully, whether it be in my district or anywhere else, and we will fight back with every tool at our disposal to stop it," Camilleri said. "The inhumane and criminal behavior of this agency should not be allowed to continue to inflict terror on immigrants, let alone doing so in our community."

U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, whose District 13 includes Romulus, has also been critical of ICE and introduced the Abolish ICE Act last month. He also slammed the idea of using warehouses as detention centers.

"Detainees are humans not packages," Thanedar has said. "DHS's plans to open makeshift detention facilities in warehouses meant for storage and shipping is preposterous, dehumanizing and dangerous."

He went to say that the warehouse generally lack bathrooms, showers and sanitary systems meant to accommodate large numbers of people. He also said the facilities typically lack resources to feed the detainees and provide proper medical care.

Patch has reached out to federal and local officials, including Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight, but we have not heard back.

More than 675,000 undocumented immigrants have been deported from the U.S., according to Department of Homeland Security officials.

They claim 70 percent of the people arrested by ICE have been charged with or convicted of a crime in the U.S., though some experts and organizations question that claim.

There is one ICE detention facility in Michigan, a shuttered prison outside of Baldwin that hold 1,800 beds.