Immigration detention center talk sparks Salt Lake County mayor's concern; more protests loom

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson has joined the voices opposing apparent plans for an immigration detention facility, focus of a protest last Friday.
At the same time, more protests are planned against immigration enforcement action in Utah.
Wilson said a new facility "would bring disruption, strain local resources and harm the economic and social fabric of our community."

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson has joined the chorus of voices expressing opposition to the specter of a new immigration detention facility in Utah as more protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement loom.

"This is a moment for Utahns to stand together, regardless of party, faith or where we live," Wilson said in a statement over the weekend. "A detention center of this magnitude would bring disruption, strain local resources and harm the economic and social fabric of our community."

Her statement comes in the wake of a demonstration last Friday outside the site of what some immigrant advocates say is to become a detention center and ahead of a flurry of more protesting, potential walkouts and other actions.

Foes of Immigration and Customs Enforcement plan to attend the Salt Lake City Council meeting on Tuesday to press for action by the body against immigrant enforcement action, the same as they did on Jan. 13.

Also on Tuesday, Mecha de U of U is calling for a walkout and advertising a demonstration of some sort for Tuesday on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City at 2 p.m. "We are calling on U of U students to stand up against ICE by joining the national day of action against ICE terror," reads a social media post announcing the plans.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation of Salt Lake City has called a demonstration for Tuesday at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City at 5 p.m., coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the inauguration of President Donald Trump to his second term in office. "We refuse to allow Trump, ICE and the racist deportation machine to operate with impunity!" reads an announcement of the plans.

Students at at least one Utah high school are planning a walkout on Tuesday to protest what they see as aggressive action by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, according to a social media post.

Trump has made detention and deportation of immigrants in the country illegally a priority, saying they pose a public safety threat and drain public resources. The action has prompted enthusiastic support from some and condemnation from others around the country. The killing of Renee Good on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by an immigration officer, however, has turned into a flashpoint for protestors, and around 100 gathered last Friday outside 1197 N. 6880 West in Salt Lake City to sound off against apparent talk of turning a warehouse there into a detention facility.

Protestors cited a leaked document that circulated last week among immigrant advocates around the country, identifying the Salt Lake City location and others elsewhere in the country as possible detention center sites. A budget bill Trump signed into law last July, the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, contains $45 billion to bolster the detention capacity of immigrants, according to the American Immigration Council.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said the department has no plans for new detention center sites to announce, but even so, the talk has prompted backlash from some, apart from the protestors.

Wilson, a Democrat, said she's been trying to get more info on the apparent plans, which purportedly call for a 7,500-bed facility. "At this point, there are still more questions than answers. I am trying to determine how far along this proposal is, who has been involved and whether local or state officials were aware of the potential use of this property. I have also learned the building may be in the process of being sold, raising concerns that its future use may not have been fully disclosed," she said in her statement.

She said she'd try to halt the initiative "through all available legal and policy avenues, including land-use authority, regulatory review, and coordination with local partners," reads her statement. A growing, bipartisan group of business leaders, community members and elected officials are "alarmed" at the prospect of a detention facility.

TJ Young, an immigrant advocate, helped lead last Friday's demonstration. She said in a post on her Instagram page Monday that immigration officials apparently visited the site at 1197 N. 6880 West after the early-morning protest. "Later in the day, firsthand accounts filmed and posted what seemed to be ICE scoping out the location. The individuals filming noted the many out-of-state license plates," reads her post.

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