In a letter sent to the new Homeland Security head, the mayor again expressed opposition to plans to convert a San Antonio warehouse into an ICE processing center.
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones is again reaching out to federal officials and urging them to reconsider plans to use a massive east-side warehouse as an immigration processing center.
In a letter sent to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the mayor expressed her opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s plan to use a 640,000-square-foot warehouse along Southeast Loop 410 as a detention facility. The federal government bought the warehouse for $66.1 million earlier this year, sparking outcry and calls for transparency from Jones and other local officials.
Jones has repeatedly said she has not been informed about the logistics of how ICE will use the warehouse. In March, San Antonio City Council directed city staff to evaluate the possibility of code and/or policy changes related to detention facilities operating within city limits.
“My community is not interested in hosting an ICE processing facility and believes it will further depress economic activity in a part of town that already struggles to attract economic development,” Jones wrote in her Wednesday letter to Mullin.
The letter follows earlier outreach in February, when Jones joined U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar, along with Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai and Commissioner Tommy Calvert Jr., in a letter to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who was ousted by President Donald Trump in early March.
That letter expressed strong opposition to a proposal by ICE to open a processing facility for detained immigrants on San Antonio’s east side and requested an in-person meeting to discuss its potential impact.
In her most recent correspondence, Jones noted she did not receive a response to the February letter but hopes for more engagement moving forward.
“I did not receive a response from your predecessor; however, I hope to have a more productive and transparent engagement with your office as we similarly aim to balance public safety and public trust,” Jones wrote.