SAN ANTONIO – Local officials are seeking ways to prevent the federal government from establishing an immigration detention center on the East Side.
San Antonio City Council members are looking for ways to stop a new immigration detention facility planned for the city’s East Side, after the federal government purchased a 640,000-square-foot warehouse off Loop 410 near East Houston Street to convert into an ICE facility.
Because Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal agency, the city’s options are limited. Still, council members used Thursday’s session to explore potential legal avenues to slow or block the project.
During the public comment period, several residents raised concerns about the planned detention facility, including the potential for unrest and protests. One speaker asked, “Would anyone agree to building a prison next to schools and parks? I don’t see that happening, so why are you ok with an Ice Warehouse?”
Another speaker, describing a recent protest at the Dilley detention center, said, “As someone who was at the Dilley detention center a couple weeks ago, getting pepper balled and tear gassed alongside my brothers and sisters, calling for children to be free from, let’s call a spade a spade its a concentration camp.”
News 4 previously reported from Dilley when pepper bombs went off as hundreds of protesters marched against the detention of children. San Antonio has also seen dozens of school walkouts protesting ICE operations.
Not everyone who spoke supported city intervention. One man warned that interfering with federal plans could put the city at risk of losing federal funding, saying, “Local government does not have the authority to police or impose mandates on federal institutions.”
RELATED | Bexar County commissioner urges injunction to review purchase of ICE detention facility
Council members said they are only pursuing legal options. Among the ideas discussed: possibly barring any privately run detention centers in the city, though that would not affect a federal detention center planned for the East Side. Another proposal would implement a city policy not to do business with entities providing support to ICE. The city also plans to check whether the facility meets all federal environmental laws and whether there is a way to block it on those grounds.
Councilman Jalen McKee Rodriguez urged an aggressive legal approach, saying, “Some of those are going to be higher risk than others, but my suggestion is that we get as close to those requests as legally possible, we find that line, and we push right on it.”
RELATED | Rep. Castro to inspect South Texas ICE detention center amid troubling complaints
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones cautioned against acting simply because the city can, saying, “Just because we can do it doesn’t mean the city is the best POSTURE TO DO IT.”
No action was taken on Thursday. Instead, the City Council directed city staff to investigate the legality and effectiveness of the options discussed.