Federal immigration officials are reportedly scouting warehouses across the United States and beginning to purchase some of them to transform into detention and processing facilities.
In San Antonio, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reportedly acquired an East Side warehouse to hold immigrant detainees. The topic has the community wondering what this could potentially mean for their neighborhood and the city.
According to the Associated Press, ICE said in a statement that the sites across the U.S. wouldn’t be warehouses but “well structured detention facilities.”
>> Local officials react to reported ICE purchase of East Side warehouse
It’s unclear what exactly they will look like once they are developed and in use.
According to reports from The Washington Post and The Dallas Morning News, the San Antonio site would function as a processing facility with up to 1,500 beds, rather than a large-scale detention center. A timeline for the project remains unclear.
KSAT revisited past footage of ICE detention centers for context on what the newly acquired site could look like.
Dilley, 2018
The confinement of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos at the Dilley immigrant family detention center sparked protests and drew elected officials to inspect the site.
KSAT’s last available video from inside the Dilley facility dates back to 2018.
>> See what it looks like inside the ICE facility in Dilley
While KSAT does not know what current conditions look like inside the Dilley facility, footage from 2018 (which can be seen in the video player above) shows it included an intake area, medical services, a salon, chapel, education spaces, monitored care and an asylum office.
The cafeteria operated from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., serving three meals daily, according to ICE. Mothers and children were seen walking freely within the facility.
Donna, 2021
Another video shows the inside of an ICE facility in Donna, near Laredo, in 2021.
The processing facility permanently closed last year.
The footage provided by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Protection shows detainees wrapped in silver “space blankets,” commonly used to keep people warm.
Footage from Donna also showed children separated into groups by plastic partitions.
What we know about the East Side warehouse
The San Antonio Express-News first reported the sale of the East Side warehouse on Tuesday morning. A source in the commercial real estate industry later confirmed to KSAT that ICE had purchased the warehouse, though federal authorities have not formally confirmed the purchase.
District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez posted a video on Instagram, saying the purchase was completed.
The warehouse on the East Side is likely to become a new federal immigration facility, according to multiple local officials and reports.
A city spokesperson previously told KSAT that San Antonio has limited authority in the matter, citing state and federal law.
“Under state and federal law, the City has no zoning authority over federal government property or property leased by the federal government,” the statement said.
>> Reports of ICE facility purchase on East Side spark concern, questions among residents
The warehouse, Oakmont 410, sits near residential neighborhoods and community spaces. An apartment complex lies across the highway, with a school property nearby that the Texas Education Agency has ordered to close after this school year due to unrelated academic issues.
A community park is also a few blocks away. Within a few miles are multiple schools, grocery stores, churches and other community hubs.
KSAT has reached out multiple times to ICE, including again on Thursday morning, seeking confirmation and requesting permission to enter the Dilley detention center. No response has been received yet.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration maintains its support for these efforts, stating that most ICE arrests involve individuals who are in the U.S. illegally and have been charged with or convicted of a crime in the country. The goal, they say, is to remove them from the streets and ultimately deport them.
KSAT will continue to provide updates online and on air as more information becomes available.
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