SAN ANTONIO – Arson investigators are working to determine what and who sparked a fire outside the proposed ICE facility off Southeast Loop 410 and Houston Street.
We spotted minor burn damage to the facility’s back wall. The police described it as a small trash fire that looks to have burned part of the building’s exterior wall.
But no matter how small, some question if this is an example of vandalism done to ICE facilities across the country.
San Antonio City Council Member Marc Whyte hopes the fire was not meant to interfere with ICE operations.
“I think that would be tremendously unfortunate,” said Marc Whyte.
This comes as several recent acts of violence or damage have been reported at ICE facilities across the country. In Arizona, someone shattered a large window at a future ICE facility. In Kansas City, a woman is accused of setting a building on fire.
“There’s no room for that here in our city,” said Whyte.
Whyte, who serves on the city’s Public Safety Committee, says the fire may bring up security concerns about the property. He questions what can be done to better protect it.
“It’ll certainly be something that I know I’ll raise with our city management,” said Whyte.
And says acts like this only add to the criticism surrounding DHS operations.
“We need tension to die down. We need cooler heads to prevail here,” said Whyte.
The federal government purchased the warehouse last month for $66 million. The facility is set to open in November.