State Sen. Darrin Camilleri wants answers about the new, 500-bed immigrant detention center being planned in Romulus. The Trump administration isn’t giving them.
ROMULUS—As federal immigration officials move forward with plans to convert a massive warehouse near Detroit Metro Airport into a 500-bed detention center, state Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) says Downriver communities are already feeling the impact.
“When the word first was confirmed that this property was being taken over by [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement], I was frustrated, upset, and nervous,” said Camilleri, whose district includes Romulus and surrounding communities. “It comes down to how my residents are feeling. They’re the ones who are feeling the same things—and even much more fear—in terms of what will happen to immigrant communities in Romulus and across Southeast Michigan.”
The proposed facility—a warehouse at 7525 Cogswell Road near Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport—has put Romulus at the center of a growing standoff between federal immigration officials and local leaders who say they were never consulted about the project.
City records show the Department of Homeland Security paid nearly $35 million in February for the roughly 250,000-square-foot industrial building, which sits on more than 27 acres of land.
Federal officials say the site could eventually hold up to 500 detainees as part of an effort to rapidly expand US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention capacity nationwide.
@gandernewsroom A warehouse in Romulus, a new lease in Southfield, bigger offices in Grand Rapids and Detroit. Michiganders didn’t volunteer to help build Trump’s deportation machine. And now, they’re pushing back hard. 👀
City officials in Romulus have signaled they may refuse to issue permits for the facility, while Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has demanded federal officials halt the project altogether in order to comply with state environmental and zoning laws. Michigan Democrats in Congress have also urged the US Department of Homeland Security to reconsider the plan.
Meanwhile, the proposal has sparked weeks of protests outside the facility, where a coalition of immigrant rights advocates, faith leaders, and community activists has held regular demonstrations calling on officials to block the detention center before it can open.
The protests come amid growing national scrutiny of immigration enforcement tactics. In Minneapolis this year, two residents—Renee Good and Alex Pretti—were shot and killed during encounters with federal immigration agents, triggering nationwide protests and calls for investigations.
Recent polling found 65% of Americans believe ICE has “gone too far” in its enforcement—an 11-point jump since last summer—with about 60% of Americans disapproving of the agency.
Civil rights groups have also raised a wide array of concerns about conditions inside immigration detention facilities, which federal inspectors and advocacy organizations have repeatedly criticized for overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and prolonged confinement.
Camilleri said state lawmakers and local officials are now exploring “every possible option” that might slow or block the detention center before detainees arrive—whenever that might be.
“We still don’t know enough,” Camilleri told The ‘Gander. “That’s been the thing that I think has frustrated our community so much, is that there’s been almost no public information.”
Local officials have spent weeks trying to track down details about the sale of the building and how quickly federal officials planned to convert it into a detention facility, he said. The Trump administration has confirmed the property was purchased for use as an immigration detention processing center, but has otherwise released few details about how the site would operate.
“We are still even actively looking for the deed,” Camilleri said.
Camilleri said the lack of transparency from the federal government has also made it difficult to assess what the warehouse project might mean for infrastructure and emergency services.
“If you’re going to try to house 500 people, including kids, in a warehouse that is not built to house people, what types of emergency services would be required?” he said.
While state and local officials have been left in the dark, federal officials told the Detroit News that the proposed detention facility would meet “regular standards” and that construction could bring more than 1,400 jobs and nearly $150 million in economic activity to the region.
“These economic benefits don’t even take into account that removing criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers,” ICE told the News.
But Camilleri said the rapid expansion of immigrant detention facilities across the country raises some serious questions about who federal officials are actually targeting—and why.
“More than 70% of people in detention centers across the nation don’t have a criminal record at all,” he said. “They’re targeting immigrants simply for being immigrants. These are coaches, small business owners, workers. They’re being rounded up simply because of who they are.”
@gandernewsroom Industrial warehouses weren’t built for people. But new reporting shows ICE plans to detain immigrants inside them—including at a proposed processing site in Highland Park, Michigan. Local officials say they were blindsided.
The dispute unfolding in Romulus reflects a broader national push to expand the federal immigration detention system. Reports indicate the Trump administration has identified several other industrial warehouses—among other sites across the country—as potential detention facilities as part of an effort to rapidly increase capacity for immigrant detainees.
For now, Camilleri said local leaders are continuing to coordinate with city, county, and state officials as they wait for more detailed information about the federal government’s plans.
“We’re trying everything we can to figure out what the next steps could look like,” Camilleri said. “But the first thing that we’re all looking for is more information.”
READ MORE: Michigan leaders demand Southfield building owners cancel ICE lease
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