Alderwoman: ICE detention facility coming to Milwaukee, immigrant groups ‘extremely concerned’
By Adam Rife
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MILWAUKEE (WDJT) — A Milwaukee alderwoman says the US Department of Homeland Security is looking into opening an ICE detention center on the city’s northwest side.
ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Local groups that work with immigrant communities warn it could be a large facility, and they say they’re concerned.
According to Milwaukee Alderwoman Larresa Taylor, ICE is looking to modify a building on the city’s northwest side so that it can be “used to transport prisoners to and from the facility.”
The building is currently an empty warehouse park on Lake Park Drive, near 41 and Bradley in the city’s northwest corner. It was built in 1989 and was sold this past October for $2.5 million.
ICE’s stated mission is to protect the US from “cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety.” Often that means detaining illegal immigrants.
In announcing the proposed detention facility, Alderwoman Taylor said, “we do not support the Department of Homeland Security in their decision to move into our district.”
A person who works closely with immigrants in Milwaukee told us they are extremely concerned.
They said their organization and their immigration attorneys are hearing the facility could hold 500 beds.
And this person said they are already hearing from families who are concerned parents will be separated from their children if this facility goes through.
As a result, some people are planning to stop sending their children to school. Others said they’ll stop seeking medical care.
We reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment on this report. They have not yet responded.
An insider at City Hall says the federal government has not notified the city about this potential detention facility.
Alderwoman Taylor has scheduled a 1 p.m. news conference Wednesday afternoon outside the building. She has invited all organizations that will be impacted to join her.
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