Utah immigrant detention center foes protest again amid talk that plans are edging ahead

SALT LAKE CITY — Amid rumblings that the property deal to allow construction of an immigrant detention facility in Salt Lake City is moving forward, foes of the project gathered again Tuesday to protest the plans.

Sarah Buck, who helps lead Salt Lake Indivisible, said news reports seem to be corroborating plans for other purported immigration detention facilities around the country on a list leaked last week to immigrant advocates nationwide. The apparent Salt Lake site in an industrial area west of the Salt Lake City International Airport appears on the list.

"What we're seeing nationwide is that list has been accurate," Buck said, as around 50 demonstrators protested outside the offices of the Ritchie Group, owner of the land in question. "With that in mind, you should be ashamed. I can't believe that there are people who think that this is a good idea. We have the history of Topaz to show us what happens when we blindly follow government."

Topaz was an internment camp near Delta used during World War II, where Japanese Americans were relocated.

The demonstration came amid a flurry of planned protests on Tuesday around Salt Lake City against what participants view as the heavy-handed approach of federal immigration agents in detaining immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally. Demonstrators gathered on the University of Utah campus and at the state Capitol on Tuesday, with immigrant advocates also slated to address the issue at Tuesday evening's meeting of the Salt Lake City Council.

Some Ogden High School students walked out of class early on Tuesday to protest the ongoing immigration crackdown, holding signs along busy Harrison Boulevard outside the school, generating honks and jeers.

T.J. Young, who also took part in the detention center demonstration in Salt Lake City, said Tuesday that she heard from an "extremely solid" source that the signing of the paperwork to allow the transfer of the land to another owner for eventual development into a detention facility is proceeding.

Reps from the Ritchie Group didn't immediately return a call seeking comment and no one was inside their office on Tuesday on Brickyard Road, where the demonstration took place. The talk has sparked concern among Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County officials, but they said Tuesday that they had no additional information on the matter.

"We haven't had any sort of engagement, nor permitting requests, infrastructure inquiries, etc.," said Andrew Wittenberg, spokesman for Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. City leaders, he said, aren't typically apprised of real estate transactions in the city.

Likewise, Liz Sollis, spokeswoman for Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, said county officials are still trying to get additional information. Wilson issued a statement Saturday criticizing the notion of a detention center, saying it "would bring disruption, strain local resources and harm the economic and social fabric of our community."

According to Young, the document identifying the supposed immigration detention center sites around the country indicates that the Salt Lake proposal would house 7,500 beds. The location is 1197 N. 6880 West, where demonstrators gathered Friday to protest the apparent plans. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security said it didn't have any detention center announcements to make, but also noted an injection of funding to expand detention space in a budget bill inked last July by President Donald Trump. Immigration officials didn't immediately respond to a follow-up request on Tuesday for comment.

The demonstrators held several signs spelling out "Ritchie Group = ICE abuse," among others.

Judy Johnson, one of the protesters, said she isn't opposed to culprits facing arrest for criminal misdeeds. "But I am against the way ICE is handling this, that people are losing their rights. They don't have due process. They get rounded up and sent to these detention centers with no way of contacting legal help, with no rights, absolutely no rights," she said.

Ogden students, others also protest

In Ogden, around 100 Ogden High School students walked out of class about a half hour before the end of the school day on Tuesday to demonstrate, according to Ogden School District spokesman Jer Bates. They stood along Harrison Boulevard outside the school holding signs expressing opposition to the immigration crackdown.

While respectful of students' First Amendment rights, Bates said school officials "encourage these activities to take place outside of school hours to avoid interrupting the school day for our students and staff."

This story may be updated.

Read more:

Voces de Utah

Looking for more news from Utah's Latino community? Visit our Voces de Utah section for more stories, events and features.

Related topics