Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County sued ICE and DHS over a proposed facility.
- The lawsuit claims the facility violates federal law and poses health risks.
- DHS and ICE have 20 days to respond to the complaint in court.
SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County filed a joint lawsuit against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Department of Homeland Security over a proposed detention facility within a warehouse district in Utah's capital city.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Utah on Monday, alleges that the DHS and ICE have failed to follow the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act "in their haste" to open the new facility in Salt Lake City as early as this year.
It seeks to halt what city and county leaders call an "unlawful decision" to convert a warehouse into an immigration detention facility.
"This kind of facility has no place in Salt Lake City, not only due to its inhumane nature but also because of our limited water supply, the increased strain on public utilities systems, and the potentially drastic public health and safety impacts it would have on our residents," Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a statement. "Salt Lakers are legally entitled to public review and reasoned decision-making on major actions by the federal government, and it is my responsibility as mayor to defend these rights."
ICE finalized a $145.44 million deal to acquire an 833,000-square-foot warehouse in Salt Lake City's Northwest Quadrant in March, which it said would house 7,500 to 10,000 detainees. It's possible that the facility could open by Nov. 30.
The deal immediately sparked an uproar, resulting in several protests across Salt Lake City, including outside of the warehouse.
City and county leaders point out that even Gov. Spencer Cox stated that "no locals were given any notice" about ICE's plans. He has since supported the facility, saying the state has needed one as Utah and others have been "picking up the pieces because every single state system has got completely overwhelmed" by immigration issues.
Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, on the other hand, have each opposed it. In the joint lawsuit, the city and county lay out a series of impacts that they say the federal government has overlooked. These include water, sewage, public health and safety concerns that they laid out in Monday's complaint.
The warehouse that ICE purchased previously used 5,600 gallons of water per day for indoors and outdoors, but the city estimates that a detention facility could use 1 million to 2 million gallons of water or more daily to meet demands, which could add constraints to a system regularly tested by drought.
The lawsuit argues that the facility would also "further strain" a sewage collection system that is "already at capacity," with daily sewage demand that could be double what the Utah State Prison uses. At the same time, it could create more wear and tear on local roads, while also adding more pollution from vehicle traffic, the entities added.
They note that the facility could also lead to more public health and safety concerns, like measles outbreaks or more security over the number of protests the facility has already generated.
While Mendenhall has had at least one meeting with federal officials over the facility, city and county officials say neither Markwayne Mullin, secretary of Homeland Security, nor ICE has consulted with the city or county over these concerns, and they have not made "any attempt to evaluate" these concerns.
The entities say the federal government sidestepped safeguards written in code to ensure transparency and "reasoned decision-making and (that they) follow applicable law."
"This is part of a pattern," they wrote in the lawsuit. "Defendants have rushed to purchase and convert several warehouses across the country as part of the (Detention Reengineering Initiative). In applying the model to Salt Lake City, defendants have violated federal law, ignored the city's and the county's interests, and, unless enjoined, will cause substantial harm to the city and the county."
They are seeking a ruling that vacates the decision to purchase the warehouse for a detention center and can "temporarily restrain, preliminarily enjoin, and stay" the DHS and ICE from implementing its plan.
Neither Mullin nor ICE immediately responded to the lawsuit. Federal agencies have 20 days to respond to the complaint filed in court.
DHS ordered a pause for review of the facility in April, along with other proposed facilities at the time that were purchased under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. It officially assumed ownership of the facility later that month, though.
Monday's lawsuit isn't the only step local leaders have taken to potentially thwart the plan. Salt Lake City also approved an ordinance amendment in March that caps any new nonresidential development that consumes or uses at least 200,000 gallons of potable water per day on average, much lower than what the ICE facility is expected to need.
The measure lasts 180 days, but city officials said they planned to use that time to make a similar rule permanent.
