San Antonio Council Seeks Environmental Review to Challenge ICE Detention Facility Plan

In late August, San Antonio City Council members, led by Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, formally requested an environmental and infrastructure impact study of ICE's plan to turn a large southeast-side warehouse into a detention facility for up to 1,500 detainees. The request, supported by four other council members, asks city-owned utilities CPS Energy and the San Antonio Water System to publicly present findings on energy consumption, water and wastewater loads, and potential effects on utility rates.

ICE awarded GardaWorld Federal Services a $17.3 million fixed-price contract on August 25 to renovate the more-than-600,000-square-foot building, which the city purchased for over $66 million in February. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones had earlier sent a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin expressing the community's opposition, but the contract proceeded. Environmental group Earthjustice has been coordinating similar challenges in multiple states, arguing that such conversions threaten local water systems and public health.