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 .
Mayor Pro Tem Steve Nichols reiterated the council has . The council took no action Wednesday.
鈥淭o date, no one from the city has been contacted by the federal officials to discuss any such plans or local impact,鈥� he read from a statement during the special called meeting. 鈥淲e 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 鈥渁ct to protect community interest to the best of our abilities.鈥�
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.
鈥淚f you think anybody up here is on board with it, you're in the wrong building,鈥� Mayor Mario Vasquez said during a council meeting earlier this week.
Ahead of Wednesday鈥檚 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.
鈥淲e 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,鈥� said state Rep. Linda Garcia. 鈥淗utchins has said we did not choose this. We do not want this, and we deserve to be heard.鈥�
Longtime Hutchins resident Felix Madrigal attended Wednesday鈥檚 meeting wearing a nametag that read 鈥淣o ICE In Hutchins.鈥�
"I look at it as a moral issue," the 86-year-old said. 鈥淲hat 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鈥� population, straining the city鈥檚 resources, advocates say.
Community organizer Denise Benavides said the location of the proposed detention center is already problematic.
鈥淚t is right next to a federal prison that already has issues with it," she said. 鈥淚t 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.鈥�
In a statement released Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett said her office has 鈥渘ot received any formal notice, briefing, or direct communication from the Department of Homeland Security or ICE regarding this facility.鈥�
She said Hutchins doesn鈥檛 need an ICE detention center in its backyard.
鈥淗utchins is a city on the rise 鈥� focused on growth, opportunity, and long-term sustainability,鈥� the statement read. 鈥淭he proposed conversion not only jeopardizes that progress but also raises substantial concerns about human rights, public safety, and local infrastructure capacity.鈥�
Priscilla Rice is 四虎影院鈥檚 communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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