ROMULUS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Federal immigration officials have purchased a vacant building in Romulus and plan to convert it into a detention facility, sparking concern among residents and local officials about the project's impact on the community.
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The facility would be housed in the former Gage Marketing Group headquarters. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the project will create nearly 1,500 jobs and contribute $160 million to the GDP while roughly $33 million in tax revenue.
However, the plan has drawn fierce opposition from some residents and elected officials who worry about the facility's effects on their neighborhood.
"Other than human rights violations, other than the fact that they always tell us yeah, we can't build affordable housing, we can't fix the economy, but we can do this," Michael Calabrese said.
State Sen. Darrin Camilerri criticized the federal government's approach to the project.
"This has not been authorized by the local government or the state government or the county government. Our city doesn't want this here," Camilerri said.
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Camilerri said officials are researching potential local actions, including ordinances or resolutions, to address community concerns.
"The thing that is most clear is that residents need to speak out, peacefully protest and do what they can to lift up their voice to say that we don't want ICE in our communities," Camilerri said.
Some residents expressed concerns about potential protests disrupting daily life, referencing recent demonstrations in Minneapolis following immigration enforcement actions and the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
"You're bringing it to the wrong town. Setting it up in a residential area like that, you're endangering folks, you're endangering this community," Debra Singal said.
"My biggest fear is if a bunch of protesters start blocking the street out there, how am I going to get to work and get her (child) to day care? Outside of that, I don't think it's really going to affect me," Joel Shaeffer said.
Judith Frederick worried about the long-term impact on the community, saying, "Nobody is going to want to move here if this is here. Everybody's already scared and it's not even here yet."
However, the facility has some supporters. Sunny Reddy, co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party, said she would feel comfortable living near the law enforcement facility.
"Everybody says they need to have a due process, and that's what they are. We are trying to create, the federal government trying to create the facility, so that they can be placed there while they are going through the due process," Reddy said.
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In a statement, ICE said it is targeting "criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members and more." The federal agency claims 70% of its arrests involve people charged or convicted of crimes in the U.S., though that figure has been contested.
"That is not accurate based on their own data. The data that I've seen most recently says 70 percent have zero criminal record at all and so we're not talking about folks who are doing hard crimes. Nobody wants those types of individuals in your neighborhood. But we're talking about, literally, small business owners," Sen. Camilleri said.
ICE says the new facility will follow strict detention standards while bringing significant economic benefits to the area.
Congressman Shri Thanedar has launched a petition aimed at stopping the detention facility project.
The Romulus City Council is scheduled to meet Monday. While it's unclear if the ICE facility will be on the agenda, some residents plan to voice their concerns about the project.
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