SALT LAKE CITY — The Ritchie Group, a family-owned Utah business, released a statement Saturday denying that it would sell property to the federal government to build an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
Rumors had been circulating for more than a week that a warehouse, located on 1000 North and 6800 West, would be turned into an ICE detention facility within the year.
On Jan. 16, approximately 100 protesters gathered outside the warehouse shouting, "ICE out of Utah, not concentration camps."
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Proposed detention center, immigration crackdown spurs flurry of Salt Lake City protests
Foes of apparent plans for an immigrant detention facility in Salt Lake City gathered again to protest, one of several demonstrations in the city on Tuesday.More than a week after the protest, the Ritchie Group released a statement denying the claim that it was planning to sell or lease the warehouse to the federal government.
"The Ritchie Group is proud to be a family-owned Utah business that has been building our communities since 1973. The Ritchie Group and its investors have no plans to sell or lease the property in question to the federal government. The Ritchie Group remains committed to investing in a safe, prosperous, and thriving Utah. We call on and encourage all Utahns and our elected leaders to engage in civil and respectful dialogue."
Following this statement, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said she was "deeply relieved" that the Ritchie Group would not sell or lease its warehouse to become an ICE detention facility.
"A facility that potentially houses 7,500 detainees has no place in an urban area," Wilson said, "and I strongly support a more guarded and humane ICE operation."
These statements came shortly after a man was killed in an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, the second person killed in less than a month.
