The effort to convert an East Side warehouse into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility is on pause after federal officials agreed to conduct an environmental review of the site, according to San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones.
Speaking with Texas Public Radio on Monday, Jones said federal officials have agreed to comply with environmental review requirements after San Antonio sued the Department of Homeland Security and ICE on Oct. 13.
“DHS has said that they will comply and do an environmental review, and so that was the whole crux of the case,” Jones said.
The environmental review halts the project of retrofitting a 640,000-square-foot warehouse on Southeast Loop 410 into a detention facility that would hold up to 1,500 people. ICE purchased the warehouse in January for $66.1 million as part of a national buying spree to expand its operations.
The city’s suit alleged that federal officials failed to conduct an environmental review required under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.
The federal government’s failure to follow its own laws has provided a legal opening to halt similar projects around the country.
In a case that served as a blueprint for San Antonio’s lawsuit, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown successfully halted work on an ICE facility in March after filing a lawsuit and an emergency motion.
Brown argued that DHS and ICE bypassed required public comment, state consultation and environmental reviews under NEPA. His office further argued that sediment from the project would threaten nearby waterways.
“Federal immigration authorities are barreling past their legal obligations in an effort to build an immigration detention facility as quickly as they can. Once construction begins, the damage to Maryland’s waterways, protected species, and communities cannot be undone,” Brown said in a press release announcing his request for an emergency order. “We are asking the court to intervene now to stop this unlawful construction, before DHS and ICE’s disregard for the law causes irreversible harm.”
In San Antonio’s petition, the city argued an environmental review is necessary to evaluate the facility’s potential effects on the surrounding community, including its infrastructure, economy and environment.
The suit alleged that federal officials failed to conduct a required environmental review before purchasing the warehouse and moving forward with renovation plans.
Jones’ comments Monday provide the first public confirmation from city officials that DHS has agreed to conduct the environmental review sought by the legal action.
However, court filings don’t specify the terms of the review, and it remains unclear whether the feds will suspend renovations or other development activities while the review is conducted, according to the San Antonio Report.
In the case of the Maryland ICE facility, for example, the court granted a preliminary injunction extending the pause on most construction work, though limited interior repairs like HVAC and drywall were permitted to proceed while security fence rulings remained pending.
Jones told TPR the city will consider additional legal action if work continues while the environmental review is being conducted or if federal officials fail to follow through on the review at all.
“We continue to monitor, and we continue to make sure that we understand what is and is not happening,” Jones said in the interview.
But, ultimately, Jones said the goal is to stop the project entirely.
“Look, pushing back has had the effect that we want up until now,” Jones told TPR. “Obviously, the ultimate effect is no ICE detention facility in San Antonio.”
