SAN ANTONIO – Democratic U.S. House Representative Henry Cuellar says a warehouse on San Antonio’s East Side recently purchased by the federal government will be used as a processing center — not a detention facility.
During a virtual conversation with members of the media, Cuellar addressed his concerns with Department of Homeland Security immigration-related plans in South Texas, including the East Side warehouse.
“They’ll get processed there and then they would be sent somewhere else outside of San Antonio for a detention center,” said Cuellar.
Cuellar said DHS told him the facility will have 1,500 beds. Still, he raised concerns about the broader approach to immigration enforcement.
“They keep saying it’s the lowest number of crossings but they’re acting like there’s this danger out there right now,” said Cuellar.
Cuellar also claims DHS is using around $45 billion dollars from what he referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill” to add 80,000 beds at ICE facilities across the country. Democrats, including Cuellar, voted against the measure.
“We already have 41,000 beds. To add another 80,000 is just a buying spree,” said Cuellar.
He also said DHS has been slow to respond to his requests for information about the San Antonio site.
“They will not confirm the timeline for San Antonio,” said Cuellar.
Earlier this week, San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones sent a letter to US Senators and Congressmen representing Texas, asking them to vote against any funding bill that would allocate resources for the facility.