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Jim Pattison Developments has announced it will not sell an industrial building in Ashland, Va., that was set to be turned into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing facility.
The development company, owned by B.C. billionaire and philanthropist Jim Pattison, sent out a single-sentence statement Friday that read, “The transaction to sell our industrial building in Ashland, Virginia will not be proceeding.”
The company said it will not provide any further comment.
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Jan. 21, in a letter sent to Hanover Country officials in Virginia, that it planned to purchase the 41-hectare (43.49-acre) warehouse property for ICE operations.
Pattison has owned the site since 2022.
WATCH | U.S. residents oppose sale of Pattison property to DHS:
Canadian billionaire taking heat for possible ICE facility deal
There is more fallout over B.C. billionaire Jim Pattison’s plans to sell a warehouse in Virginia to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. federal government wants to buy the property and turn it into an ICE processing facility. As CBC’s Yasmine Ghania reports, that’s prompted criticism on both sides of the border.
The proposed deal caused backlash in B.C. and drew criticism from the leader of the B.C. Green Party, who called for a boycott of Pattison’s Save-On-Foods grocery stores.
ICE has undertaken an expansive immigration crackdown in the U.S. that has seen federal agents shoot and kill two American citizens in Minneapolis, Minn.
More to come.