A self-proclaimed grassroots network in Utah said at a Tuesday press conference that it intends to file a federal court complaint against Department of Homeland Security Head Markwayne Mullin and other federal officials to halt proposed plans for an immigration detention center in Utah.
“We cannot stand idly by. This is, at its core, a moral issue. We either love our neighbors and treat them with dignity — or we do not,” Jim McConkie, a legal advocate for the coalition group Uproar Utah, said. “We are serving formal notice to the Department of Homeland Security that we intend to pursue legal action designed to halt this project.”
The intent to sue by the Utah nonprofit comes just a day after Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County jointly filed a lawsuit against DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the same intent to pause the progress toward turning the warehouse into an immigration detention center.
“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 press release on Monday. “Salt Lakers are legally entitled to public review and reasoned decision making on major actions by the federal government, and it is my responsibility as Mayor to defend these rights.”
During Tuesday’s press conference, McConkie praised Salt Lake City leadership for their legal actions against the federal government.
What is Uproar Utah?
Uproar Utah is a component of the nonprofit Utah Refugee Justice League. Its slogan: “NO ICE CAGES.”
“Who is Uproar Utah? We are a group of privileged east bench women who have finally had enough,” Marie Cornwall, executive director of Uproar Utah and the Utah Refugee Justice League, said in announcing the group’s formation on Tuesday. “We’ve been friends for many years and during COVID decided to get together on Zoom to study the U.S. Constitution. Then we moved on to topics like race and then immigration and then Christian nationalism.”
Cornwall said its priorities are to unite groups to combat progress on the detention center and mobilize through press conferences and social media to share information with the community.
“I am doing this because I want my community to be safe for everyone. My landscaper and the men who replaced my roof this summer and the men who mow my lawn,” she added. “We are doing this because we can’t count on our state and national leadership to gather all the facts and understand the problems facing us.”
ICE acquired the 833,000-square-foot warehouse on Salt Lake City’s west side last March for approximately $145.44 million.
Whether the federal government will move forward with the project remains unclear. When Mullin took over in April, a review was launched on all warehouse purchases made under the leadership of former Secretary Kristi Noem. With the Utah warehouse included in that review, it remains uncertain whether Salt Lake City will host a 10,000-bed detention hub.
McConkie called the potential immigration center a “federal detention scheme” that, at its core, is a moral dilemma. Brent Ward, another legal advocate for Uproar Utah, said the notice filed on Tuesday proves “it is our government that is breaking the law,” and that they “added injury to insult by failing to make the slightest attempt to consider the environmental impacts of their warehouse jail, as federal laws require.”
Ward said the planned lawsuit seeks relief under the Administrative Procedure Act, arguing DHS and ICE failed to conduct the environmental review required before purchasing and planning the conversion of the Salt Lake warehouse. He also cited concerns that the facility’s projected water consumption could worsen conditions of the Great Salt Lake, with downstream effects on air quality, public health and wildlife.
Concerns around infectious disease transmission and access to medical care in a large-scale detention facility were also expressed.
The group called on elected and appointed officials to speak up, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who was concerned about the lack of communication regarding the warehouse’s purchase but ultimately endorsed the project.
Last March, ICE told KSL in a statement that the federal government would conduct a community impact study to assess the facility’s impact on local infrastructure.
“This will be a very well-structured detention facility meeting our regular detention standards,” the statement said. “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”