Proposed immigrant detention center site in Salt Lake City to be offloaded, newspaper reports
Jun 18, 2026, 5:05 PM
A planned ICE facility purchased by the Department of Homeland Security is seen on the west side in Salt Lake City in April. The proposed site is one of several federal locations officials are now planning to get rid of, according to a report in The New York Times.. (Tess Crowley, Deseret News)
(Tess Crowley, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — The proposed site for an immigrant detention center in Salt Lake City, focus of loud clamoring and a lawsuit, is one of several federal locations officials are now planning to get rid of, according to a report in The New York Times.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to get rid of seven warehouses all around the country that were originally to be converted into immigrant detention centers as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, the newspaper said. The reporter, Hamed Aleaziz, tweeted that the Salt Lake City location is one of the seven locations.
The seven locations were acquired by federal authorities for more than $700 million, and ICE plans to either give them to other federal agencies or sell them, the Times said. KSL messaged ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for comment Thursday but didn’t immediately get a response. A spokesman for Salt Lake City said city officials have received no word from DHS officials about a possible sale.
ICE acquired the Salt Lake City warehouse at 6020 W. 300 South that was to be turned into a warehouse for $145.44 million last March. It measures 833,000 square feet.
The acquisition has sparked demonstrations by foes of the plan. Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City filed suit earlier this month in federal court to block the plans while a new nonprofit group, Uproar Utah, took shape with the aim of filing suit to halt the initiative as well.
While federal officials didn’t immediately offer a comment Thursday, a DHS spokesman told KSL last week in response to queries about the lawsuit and possible lawsuit that agency initiatives were under review.
“As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals. As Secretary (Markwayne) Mullin said in his confirmation hearing: ‘I will work with the community leaders and make sure that we are delivering for the American people what the president set out. … We want to work with community leaders. We want to be good partners.'”
Mullin took over as head of the DHS from Kristi Noem after she was removed from the post early last March. When he took over, DHS officials said the plans she had launched to build new detention centers were under review.
This story will be updated.
