Hutchins Warehouse No Longer in Play for ICE Mega Detention Facility
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An industrial facility just south of Dallas in the small city of Hutchins will not be leased or sold to the Department of Homeland Security to serve as a migrant detention center, according to the property owner.
The vacant 1-million-square-foot warehouse became the center of significant controversy locally after multiple reports claimed ICE was looking at the property as a potential site for a facility capable of housing up to 9,500 detainees, citing internal Immigration & Customs Enforcement documents.
Outrage followed for some weeks, with Hutchins residents and others from the Dallas area turning out to city council meetings to express their concerns, even though it’s unclear what authority local officials would have over such a sale. Now, it seems the warehouse’s owner — Majestic Realty Co. — is putting a rest to the speculation.
“While we were contacted about the potential sale of our building in Hutchins, Texas, Majestic Realty Co. has not and will not enter into any agreement for the purchase or lease of any building to the Department of Homeland Security for use as a detention facility,” the company said in a statement on Monday.
Located at 950 N I-45, the building is a relatively new delivery, having been completed in late 2022. Promotional material for the warehouse touts its proximity to the Union Pacific Dallas Intermodal Terminal and the multiple interstates in the area.
ICE is in the process of expanding its deportation operations through a “detention reengineering initiative,” a nationwide plan to beef up the agency’s detention infrastructure by the end of fiscal year 2026.
The initiative calls for acquiring and renovating eight large-scale detention centers, 16 regional processing sites, and 10 existing facilities to create a network capable of housing up to 92,600 detainees at a projected cost of $38.3 billion. The effort is meant to support increased enforcement operations and a surge in detentions.
Under the model, regional processing centers would hold 1,000-1,500 people for stays of three to seven days, while the large-scale mega centers would house 7,000-10,000 people for periods averaging fewer than 60 days, according to internal ICE documents.
Hutchins residents have sharply criticized the prospect of the Majestic Realty property becoming a mega detention center, with some pointing to comments made by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons last year.
“We need to get better at treating this like a business,” he said, suggesting the deportation process needed to function “like [Amazon] Prime, but with human beings.”
This Monday’s Hutchins City Council meeting had a much different tone than previous ones, given the news, according to NBC 5 DFW.
During the meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Nichols read a statement from City Attorney Joseph Gorfida:
“The last several weeks, as you can imagine, have been challenging for many of us, both residents and elected officials. However, I want to thank everyone for their patience as we worked through these challenging issues.
“Both elected officials and staff heard your voices, and although we could not say much during these times due to the limited information that we had been provided, your concerns did not go unnoticed and your professional decorum shown during our city council meetings, as well as the protest here at City Hall is much appreciated.”
Polling has turned decisively against ICE operations in recent months, though there is still significant support for mass deportations and a restrictive immigration policy.
