Nessel, Romulus file lawsuit against DHS to halt planned ICE detention center 

BY KATHERINE DAILEY, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—The State of Michigan and the city of Romulus have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the US Department of Homeland Security, challenging plans to convert a warehouse in Romulus into a detention center for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on Tuesday.

“As the state’s Attorney General, I have a legal and moral obligation to act if and when this administration behaves unlawfully and does so in a way that harms Michigan residents,” Nessel said in a press release. “The Romulus Warehouse is simply not—and never will be—an appropriate place for a large-scale detention center. DHS in its zealous quest for a bigger nationwide footprint, appears to have conducted an ill-conceived rush job, free from any traditional planning considerations or even basic concern for the many Romulus residents who will be impacted by their actions.”

The lawsuit alleges that DHS violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to conduct an environmental review of the area, as well as the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act by failing to consult with local and state officials when making decisions about the detention center, adding that the conversion of the warehouse “has harmed and will continue to harm the environmental, economic, public health, and safety interests of the State and City.”

DHS purchased the warehouse on Cogswell Street in early February for over $34.6 million, the lawsuit noted, an increase in over $12 million from when it was last purchased in 2023—calling the purchase “part and parcel of the Trump administration’s efforts to ramp up immigration enforcement throughout the country—and, in many instances, flout the law in the process.”

Since plans for the detention center became known in February, public pressure has mounted to stop or at least slow down the development of the detention center in Romulus. Elected officials—including Nessel, as well as both US senators from Michigan and many local lawmakers from the Romulus area—have demanded that DHS halt its plans for the detention center. In one such move, Romulus City Council unanimously passed a resolution in late February formally opposing the “establishment, construction or operation” of a new ICE detention center that is planned to open within the city.

“Two words I hate to use when describing my home city are ‘overburdened and underserved’. Unfortunately, we are exactly that. We are not asking for a handout, just the chance to grow and improve the quality of life for our residents, unburdened by outside interference,” said Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight in a press release. “This is why any type of detention center must be vetted through all required permitting and legal channels.”

Recourse for local leaders in cases like this is often limited—detention centers around the country have faced local and state-level opposition, but have struggled to actually stop the development of the facilities.

Regardless, state legislators representing Romulus applauded Nessel’s decision to file the lawsuit with state Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) calling the facility “a disaster in the making.”

“The people of Romulus have had unwanted infrastructure imposed on them before—last time it was a hazardous waste injection well, now it’s an ICE detention center,” said state Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton). “This proposed facility will drain police resources, hamper economic development, and bring chaos into our community.”

Wegela also cited thousands of court losses that ICE has faced since the fall for wrongfully jailing detainees and violating habeas corpus rights, a concern that the lawsuit similarly raises.

“This year alone at least 13 people have died in ICE custody,” Wegela said. “It comes as no surprise that for an agency with a track record of terrible conditions for their facilities, ICE would choose a terrible spot for a new detention center like the Cogswell facility in Romulus.”

READ MORE: Michigan senator joins push to block ICE detention center in Romulus

This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.