The city of San Antonio has initiated legal action against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in an effort to prevent the establishment of a proposed immigration detention center. The lawsuit claims that the federal agency neglected to assess the environmental consequences of its plans.
Earlier this year, DHS acquired a 640,000-square-foot commercial warehouse in San Antonio for $66.1 million. In August, the agency awarded a contract worth $17.3 million to GardaWorld Federal Services to transform the facility into a detention center capable of housing up to 1,500 immigrants daily.
In a federal petition submitted on Tuesday, city officials contended that DHS overlooked essential regulations that mandate a comprehensive evaluation of the plan’s environmental impacts and the exploration of viable alternatives, thereby violating both the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. This approach mirrors strategies employed by other communities opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiatives.
San Antonio’s petition highlighted that DHS and ICE officials had not upgraded the facility’s sewer and water systems, raising concerns about potential harmful discharges into local water sources. The city also pointed out persistent issues related to health and safety within ICE detention centers, referencing recent disease outbreaks reported in Texas facilities. Furthermore, city officials expressed frustration over the lack of substantial communication from federal authorities regarding the warehouse’s intended use.
The petition underscored that the Detention Conversion Project poses significant risks to the environmental, economic, public health, and safety interests of San Antonio and its residents. “These alarming conditions could endanger public health and require a response by City health officials,” the document stated.
In response, DHS criticized the city’s motives, suggesting that local officials were more focused on undermining former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies than on genuine environmental concerns. An unnamed spokesperson indicated that the agency is working diligently with state and county partners to utilize existing detention facilities effectively.
“From day one, DHS has remained singularly focused on removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from the United States and is always evaluating the best methods to do so,” the spokesperson remarked. “These heinous criminals, once arrested, should be removed at lightning speed, not housed on American soil at the taxpayer’s expense.”
Federal data as of August 6 indicates that just over 30% of individuals detained by ICE nationally had prior convictions; however, in Texas, approximately two-thirds of those arrested by ICE had no criminal history.
This is not the only warehouse project that DHS has pursued in Texas. Earlier this year, a company declined to sell or lease a one-million-square-foot facility in Hutchins to ICE, effectively halting plans to convert it into a detention center near Dallas that could accommodate 9,500 individuals. Additionally, Democratic U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar informed the Tribune in August that DHS intends to sell three warehouses in El Paso County, which have the capacity to hold over 8,000 detainees.
Furthermore, the federal agency has divested from several other warehouses nationwide that were originally acquired to support the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation strategy.
