HUTCHINS, Texas — The owners of a 1-million-square-foot warehouse in Hutchins, Texas—which is located in Dallas County—have now said they will not sell or lease the property to the Department of Homeland Security, according to reports.
Majestic Realty Co. said in a statement to a Dallas Morning News reporter, who posted it on X, that it had been contacted about the potential sale of the warehouse, but it “has not and will not enter into any agreement for the purchase or lease of any building to the Department of Homeland Security for use as a detention facility.”
“We’re grateful for the long-term relationship we have with Mayor Mario Vasquez and the City of Hutchins and look forward t continuing our work to find a buyer or lease tenant that will help drive economic growth,” the statement continued.
According to reporting from The Washington Post, the warehouse had been considered for conversion into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center that could house up to 9,500 migrants, which is more than the population of Hutchins.
Local officials had said that the federal government had not reached out to them about plans for an ICE facility, and the Hutchins City Council met to discuss the measure during a brief, closed-door session early this month. No vote or formal action was taken at that meeting.
State Rep. Aicha Davis, D-Dallas, spoke at a news conference ahead of the council meeting about the feedback she has received from residents.
“We have residents saying, ‘Why even focus on an ICE facility when we don’t even have a good grocery store in here?’ When we talk about how to improve our community and neighborhoods, this is not it,” Davis said.
Hutchins isn’t the only community in the Lone Star State that could be home to a new ICE facility. ICE is reportedly eyeing warehouse buildings in southeast El Paso and San Antonio to convert into new detention spaces.
According to a memo from ICE sent to the New Hampshire Governor’s Office, the conversion of warehouses into detention spaces across the country will cost $38.3 billion, which will be paid for through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. That act allocated $45 billion for ICE to expand its immigration detention system.
El Paso is already home to the largest immigration detention facility in the country, Camp East Montana, which is located inside Fort Bliss. It is said to house up to 5,000 detainees.