Municipal and county officials in Salt Lake City have initiated federal court proceedings to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from establishing a massive warehouse facility intended to house as many as 10,000 immigrants in their community.
The federal court filing, submitted this past Monday, represents another in a series of legal challenges brought by local authorities nationwide who were bypassed during DHS’s acquisition of industrial warehouse properties intended for conversion into regional immigrant processing and holding facilities.
The legal action focuses on DHS’s most costly property acquisition under this program: a $145.4 million purchase of an 833,000-square-foot warehouse spanning an area equivalent to approximately 15 football fields. The March transaction, involving a real estate development company with partial Deutsche Bank ownership, carried a price tag nearly 50% above the property’s assessed market value for 2025, according to official records.
Between January and March, DHS acquired 11 warehouse properties totaling over $1 billion during the closing period of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership, part of her $38.3 billion strategy for a revised detention approach aimed at expanding capacity and streamlining deportation procedures. The DHS Office of Inspector General has launched an inquiry into potential waste within the program, while Noem’s replacement, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, has suspended the initiative.
Similar to other legal challenges filed nationwide, the Utah case contends that DHS breached federal requirements by bypassing mandatory environmental assessments and failing to seek input from state and local authorities prior to the acquisition.
“This kind of facility has no place in Salt Lake City, not only due to its inhumane nature but also because of our limited water supply, the increased strain on public utilities systems, and the potentially drastic public health and safety impacts it would have on our residents,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a statement.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said the plan “is a dire threat to the very essence of our community values,” adding it would overwhelm infrastructure, harm businesses, and undermine public health and safety.
A recently established advocacy organization, Uproar Utah, also scheduled a Tuesday news conference to address legal action against the warehouse proposal.
DHS’s press office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Court challenges in other locations have achieved some preliminary victories.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has issued administrative orders blocking the operation of two planned detention centers until DHS can show they are complying with state and federal environmental regulations. DHS is appealing the orders.
In Maryland, a judge has granted a preliminary injunction halting construction activities at a Williamsport warehouse while a lawsuit is heard. In New Jersey, ICE is preparing a new environmental assessment and decision after a lawsuit was filed against its plan for a detention center in Roxbury Township. Other cases are pending in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia.
