Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez has asked CPS Energy and the San Antonio Water System to assess the water, sewer and electricity needs of a massive immigrant detention site the Trump White House plans to open on the East Side, KSAT reports.
The District 2 councilman’s formal request asks the utilities to come up with data showing how the 640,000-square-foot lockup might have an “impact on current and future utility rates for San Antonio customers.”
The site, part of the Trump White House’s mass-deportation program, is expected to house as many as 1,500 detainees once it opens next spring. The industrial facility has sat vacant for three years.
A SAWS spokesperson told KSAT sewer and water lines already commence to the warehouse. Still, “the property owner would be responsible for larger water lines needed to support the facility’s anticipated demand,” the official added.
SAWS plans to meet with the council’s governance committee as early as next week on McKee-Rodriguez’s inquiry, according to the TV station.
CPS Energy officials told the KSAT they won’t disclose specific customer information about the warehouse, including its projected electricity needs or whether it could strain the electrical grid.
ICE paid $66.1 million early this year for the property at 542 S.E. Loop 410 as part of $1 billion buying spree of warehouses across the country to carry out the White House’s immigration crackdown.
Local officials, including Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, have called for more transparency from the White House about its plans, and residents have raised concerns about its impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
Last month, ICE picked one of the companies behind Florida’s infamous Alligator Alcatraz detention camp to operate the facility. The agency awarded the $17.3 billion contract to private prison company GardaWorld Federal Services.
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