Dallas-Area Warehouse Could Be ICE’s Future Detention Center

A proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center outside Dallas is starting to look less hypothetical and more like a very real industrial real estate move with possible civic consequences.

The Washington Post first reported in December that ICE was planning a roughly 1-million-square-foot detention center in Hutchins — a small town in Dallas County southeast of Dallas — capable of holding up to 9,500 people, more than 10 times the capacity of the nearest ICE facility in Prairieland. The plan immediately rattled the city of fewer than 8,000 residents, whose mayor said publicly he did not want the project and noted only one warehouse in town is large enough to fit the bill, D Magazine reported.

Until now, neither ICE nor any media outlet had identified a specific site or owner. But local clergy groups and community leaders say the location is an open secret.

On Friday, members of the Clergy League for Emergency Action and Response gathered in Dallas to protest the proposed center, saying ICE officials had privately confirmed the location to some members. The facility, they said, is a 1-million-square-foot warehouse at 950 North I-45, next to the Hutchins State Jail, the outlet reported. A Majestic Realty listing for the address shows a building of just over 1 million square feet, aligning with earlier descriptions. The Dallas Central Appraisal District values the property at $80.1 million.

Public records list the owner as PS Hutchins Phase Two, a Delaware entity registered through an agent. Calls to the property listing went to the voicemail of a Majestic Realty senior vice president. A document from the project’s builder shows the warehouse was originally designed for Amazon, echoing Mayor Mario Vasquez’s description of the only viable site in town.

Clergy members said ICE already conducted a site visit and purchased the building rather than leasing it, though the agency has not confirmed a transaction or even acknowledged a specific address. A title commitment dated last week for the property was shared with reporters, adding fuel to the speculation.

The real estate implications extend beyond the building itself. Bond documents from Hutchins show the property is among the city’s top 10 taxpayers, accounting for about 3.8 percent of its tax base and generating roughly $1.8 million a year, according to the outlet. If ICE owns the facility, that revenue could disappear, complicating the city’s ability to service debt. Infrastructure is another concern. Local leaders warn Hutchins lacks the water and sewer capacity to support what would effectively double its population overnight.— Eric Weilbacher