Hutchins city leaders met briefly Wednesday to discuss a proposed immigration facility as residents and local lawmakers gathered to oppose it.
The federal government plans to convert a 1 million-square-foot warehouse into a detention center that would house up to 9,500 migrants, as first reported by the Washington Post.
Mayor Pro Tem Steve Nichols reiterated the council has not received confirmation or information about the facility. The council took no action Wednesday.
“To date, no one from the city has been contacted by the federal officials to discuss any such plans or local impact,” he read from a statement during the special called meeting. “We are not even aware of the need of transfer having been reported to the county for the properties in question."
Nichols told the public they would keep the community informed and “act to protect community interest to the best of our abilities.”
The facility would be one of five sites in Texas, according to documents reviewed by the Post. It would be located in an industrial area off of I-45.
City leaders and community members have spoken out in opposition to the proposed warehouse since it was first reported.
“If you think anybody up here is on board with it, you're in the wrong building,” Mayor Mario Vasquez said during a council meeting earlier this week.
Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, lawmakers and activists with the League of United Latin American Citizens held a news conference outside Hutchins City Hall to express their opposition to the detention center.
“We should never accept the idea that a small working class city should be forced to host the largest detention center in the nation against its will,” said state Rep. Linda Garcia. “Hutchins has said we did not choose this. We do not want this, and we deserve to be heard.”
Longtime Hutchins resident Felix Madrigal attended Wednesday’s meeting wearing a nametag that read “No ICE In Hutchins.”
"I look at it as a moral issue," the 86-year-old said. “What ICE is doing is they're ignoring what is right and wrong behavior. We just cannot allow ICE to come in, truck migrants in like cattle."
If it comes to fruition, the facility would roughly double Hutchins’ population, straining the city’s resources, advocates say.
Community organizer Denise Benavides said the location of the proposed detention center is already problematic.
“It is right next to a federal prison that already has issues with it," she said. “It has issues with infrastructure and sewage that are not being addressed, so why not use this facility for what it's for, to create jobs for the community, and not have it as a human warehouse.”
In a statement released Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett said her office has “not received any formal notice, briefing, or direct communication from the Department of Homeland Security or ICE regarding this facility.”
She said Hutchins doesn’t need an ICE detention center in its backyard.
“Hutchins is a city on the rise — focused on growth, opportunity, and long-term sustainability,” the statement read. “The proposed conversion not only jeopardizes that progress but also raises substantial concerns about human rights, public safety, and local infrastructure capacity.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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