The federal government has reversed course and will not convert a north Mississippi warehouse into a holding center for undocumented immigrants.
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker said that after talks with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, federal officials have agreed to “look elsewhere” for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. The update follows a letter the Republican lawmaker from Mississippi penned to Noem expressing staunch opposition to ICE occupying a facility in Byhalia to house detainees.
The property in question is located on Mt. Carmel Road, where the owner was reportedly in talks with the Trump administration regarding plans to lease or sell the warehouse for ICE’s use as a mega site to house around 8,500 undocumented immigrants. In January, community activists gathered at the facility to protest the plan. Among those in attendance were civil rights lawyer and congressional candidate Cliff Johnson, along with DeSoto Mutual Aid Collective vice chair Chelsea Howard.
As for Wicker, his reservations about ICE using the Mississippi site stemmed from concerns about the economic development impact the agency’s presence could cause, his constituents’ lack of support for the project, and the local community’s lack of manpower and resources to operate the holding center.
“I just spoke with DHS Secretary Noem about the proposed ICE detention facility in Marshall County. I relayed to her the opposition of local elected and zoning officials, as well as economic development concerns. I appreciate her for agreeing to look elsewhere,” Wicker said Friday morning.
ICE’s presence has been met with intense scrutiny in certain communities, particularly Minneapolis, where American citizens Renee Goode and Alex Pretti were shot and killed by agents on separate occasions, though the shootings have not yielded any arrests or charges against agents at this time. The agency has not responded to a request for comment from SuperTalk Mississippi News at this time