'Cruel, heartless': Critics raise health concerns with proposed immigrant detention facility

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Medical experts gathered to speak out against a proposed immigrant detention center in Salt Lake City, warning it could pose a public health concern.
The critics spoke as part of a press conference called by Uproar Utah, which has threatened to sue to stop the plans.
Federal officials indicate they are stepping back from the plans, but foes are skeptical.

SALT LAKE CITY — Members of a coalition opposed to construction of a massive immigrant detention center in Salt Lake City aren't so sure the plans are dead, as reported earlier this month.

At the same time, U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials haven't been completely clear about their intentions.

Accordingly, representatives from Uproar Utah, a group that took shape in opposition to the detention center proposal, held a press conference Monday to reiterate their objections, highlighting worries about the facility's public health implications.

"Any crowded setting risks the spread of communicable diseases and increases the strains on health care resources. ICE detention facilities in other states have had demonstrated outbreaks of influenza, mumps and hepatitis A1 as well as reduced access to needed medical care," Suzanne Harrison, a doctor and member of the Salt Lake County Council, said at the gathering.

Kate Sugarman, a doctor from the Washington, D.C., area who advocates for the immigrant community, also spoke out, warning that a new facility, if built, would likely burden the local health care system. She has been active in efforts to halt plans for a federal detention center in Hagerstown, Maryland, and traveled to Utah as a guest of Uproar Utah to discuss the issue.

Immigrant detention centers, Sugarman said, don't typically provide "specialty medical care," that is, care for more complex illnesses and ailments, instead tapping local healthcare facilities. "So we know that if people are brought into ICE custody in this state that they're going to be overwhelming our local hospitals, local emergency rooms, local 911 system," she said.

Critics are raising healthcare concerns if plans for a proposed immigrant detention facility go forward. Kate Sugarman, a doctor who's second from the right, addressed the issue at a press conference Monday at the Utah Law and Justice Center in Salt Lake City. (Photo: Tim Vandenack, KSL)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials bought a vacant warehouse last March in Salt Lake City for $145.44 million to build an immigrant detention center as part of President Donald Trump's ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration. It has sparked plenty of debate, including loud clamoring by foes of the plan, but The New York Times reported earlier this month that federal authorities were scrapping the plans in Salt Lake City and several other locations around the country.

Jim McConkie, a lawyer who aided in creation of Uproar Utah, isn't so sure the plans are dead, though, and Monday's gathering aimed to redouble the foes' concerns and arguments against building a detention center. He and Uproar Utah reps announced plans on June 9 to sue in federal court to halt the plans, nine days before the New York Times report.

"This is a tricky issue because the Trump administration often ... reverses course suddenly and without any warning. So we'd like to see an official statement," he said. "There's the possibility, for example, they might build another detention center somewhere in Salt Lake City, and we want to make it clear we don't want any detention centers in Salt Lake City or anywhere in the state."

In response to a KSL query on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security on Monday rereleased an earlier statement saying it planned to use existing detention center space as part of the immigration crackdown, suggesting new facilities aren't in the works. The agency didn't address questions about the healthcare concerns put forward by Harrison, a Democrat, and Sugarman.

McConkie, however, hasn't been able to get a response from federal authorities about their plans, and he noted what he said is support for a detention center from Gov. Spencer Cox and other "prominent political leaders." Cox voiced support for "the right kind of ICE facility" soon after ICE bought the warehouse site last March.

McConkie wonders if a new proposal could emerge, for a smaller detention center, perhaps, or for a facility somewhere else in Utah. "If the federal government thinks that we would welcome because our political leaders are saying that they would welcome this kind of a detention center, there's a real need to remain vigilant," he said.

Sugarman has carried out medical evaluations for asylum seekers, which has given her an up-close look at detention facilities, according to an Uproar Utah press release. She alleged Monday that ICE has denied medical care to those in custody.

"I know this because I have reviewed countless medical records of people in ICE jails. Lawyers approach me and other physicians to try to advocate to get people released when they are being denied lifesaving medical care. The medical malpractice is cruel, heartless and intentional," she said.

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said before the New York Times report emerged that she was advised by federal officials that the Salt Lake City facility would be designed to accommodate 7,500 to 10,000 inmates. The city and Salt Lake County have sued in federal court to halt the plans, and that case is still winding through court.

More than 450 doctors and other health care officials signed an open letter, released as part of Monday's press conference, warning of the "serious risks" if a detention center materializes. They brought up some of the concerns addressed at the press conference.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.