EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso County officials are pressing federal agencies for answers about a proposed detention facility in Socorro after community concerns prompted commissioners to request more information from the County Attorney in February.
El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez said the county has been reaching out to federal agencies but has not yet received responses to key questions.
“The questions that we had submitted to various agencies within the Department of Homeland Security… CBP… ICE was… What records, reviews, assessments have you done on this particular site?” Sanchez said.
The Department of Homeland Security has purchased warehouse property in Socorro for more than $122 million for the proposed detention facility. The property is located along Eastwind Avenue.
Jordan Salas reports on El Paso County leaders waiting on answers regarding the proposed Socorro migrant detention centers.
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Sanchez said her office has spent the past several weeks trying to gather more information about the facility.
Officials said they have met with local stakeholders, including the City of Socorro, the Lower Valley Water District and Emergency Services District No. 2 (these two provide water and fire services in the area), to discuss the potential impact of the proposed facility.
Officials also said they have sent letters to state and federal lawmakers and submitted public records requests to federal agencies seeking more details about the project.
Sanchez said one of the main questions is whether required federal reviews have been completed, including the process required under the National Environmental Protection Act.
“So NEPA, it’s, federal regulation. It stands for the National Environmental Protection Act. And what it provides is any time the federal government would like to undertake, the building of a certain facility, in this case, it would be a mega detention facility. They are required to follow a certain process under the National Environmental Protection Act,” Sanchez said. “So far we have not found that that has been done.”
For now, Sanchez said, the county is still trying to get basic answers about the project, including whether the area has the water capacity to support a facility of that size.
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