- Utah leaders react to the potential cancellation of a Salt Lake ICE facility.
- Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla opposes the facility citing rights violations, while Republican Rep. Matt MacPherson said a facility is needed.
- Gov. Spencer Cox previously supported the facility but declined to comment on recent developments.
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah leaders are responding to news that a planned immigration detention facility in Salt Lake City appears to be off the table.
The Department of Homeland Security told KSL it's now focusing on using "existing" detention space for immigration enforcement but didn't say anything specifically about Salt Lake City. Leaders in Salt Lake haven't received any official word from the federal government, a spokesperson said Friday.
But the New York Times reported this week that federal officials are looking to get rid of Salt Lake's planned detention center, located at 6020 W. 300 South, and several others across the country. The federal government purchased a warehouse west of Salt Lake City International Airport in March for more than $145 million, prompting strong public pushback and a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent a detention center from moving forward.
Outside the Salt Lake City warehouse on Friday afternoon, it was fairly quiet. Just one federal officer sat outside in a black SUV on duty, telling media to stay off the property.
Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, also stood nearby. She told KSL the new developments regarding the facility are "great news."
"Having something so horrible here in Salt Lake City, Utah does not belong," Escamilla said.
Ever since DHS's plans for the facility became public earlier this year, Escamilla has strongly opposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, from moving in.
"The violation of rights and due process is the biggest concern when we're talking about these facilities," Escamilla said.
But Rep. Matt MacPherson, R-West Valley City, is disappointed that ICE seems to be pulling back from Utah. He said a facility would have helped free up local jail space.
"I think as long as we have some space that we can start shifting these individuals out of our local jails and into those facilities temporarily until they're dealt with in the immigration side, it's just going to help all law enforcement," he said.
MacPherson hopes ICE will still pursue something in Utah, but he also hasn't heard anything from the federal government about any future plans.
Meanwhile, one Utah leader who's not saying anything about this issue right now is Gov. Spencer Cox. In March, the governor expressed support for an immigrant detention center being built in Salt Lake.
"We need an ICE facility," Cox said at the time. "We need to get the right kind of ICE facility."
But on Friday, the governor's office declined to provide a comment on the latest developments, instead referring KSL to an email address for the Department of Homeland Security media relations team.
