ICE Closing in on Texas Warehouse Purchases

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement closed on a warehouse in San Antonio and is reportedly exploring the purchase of another warehouse in North Texas, signaling a potential expansion of federal detention capacity even as local officials and lawmakers push back and key details remain under wraps.

ICE confirmed the purchase Thursday morning in a statement to the San Antonio Business Journal, saying it had acquired a warehouse intended for use as a detention facility, the publication reported. The agency declined to identify the property or provide transaction details, only stating that the buildings would meet federal detention standards.

“These will not be warehouses — they will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards,” ICE spokesperson Nina Pruneda said in an emailed statement. She pointed to new funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law last summer, that allows the Department of Homeland Security to expand its detention presence nationwide.

The confirmation comes as real estate and political scrutiny intensifies around Oakmont 410, a nearly 640,000-square-foot industrial building on San Antonio’s East Side that sources claim is the likely target. Multiple real estate industry sources told the outlet that ICE was eyeing the vacant property at 542 Southeast Loop 410, a warehouse built in 2022 and marketed for lease ever since.

The building is owned by Oakmont Industrial Group and represented by Partners Real Estate brokers John Colglazier, John Simons and Kyle Kennan. Neither Oakmont nor Partners has commented, and as of press time no sale had been recorded in Bexar County property records.

Opposition to the rumored deal has been swift. Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, whose district includes the site, blasted the potential use as “the most disreputable commercial activity since WWII,” an apparent reference to the use of internment camps established to detain Japanese-Americans on the federal government’s claim of “military necessity” in the 1940s. Democratic Congressmen Greg Casar and Joaquin Castro echoed that sentiment in a joint statement earlier this week, vowing to fight any expansion of ICE’s presence in San Antonio.

The San Antonio purchase also fueled anxiety farther north, where questions persist about a massive warehouse near Interstate 45 in Hutchins, a small city south of Dallas. Residents there have speculated the property could become a large detention center, though city officials said they have received no confirmation from federal authorities.

D Magazine first reported that the proposed ICE detention center is most likely a 1-million-square-foot warehouse at 950 North I-45 next to the Hutchins State Jail, with a capacity for up to 9,500 people. The property, valued at $80.1 million and listed by Majestic Realty, is believed by local clergy members to have been purchased by ICE, though the agency has not confirmed the transaction.

Hutchins City Council convened a special meeting Wednesday night, entering executive session with legal counsel to discuss the property. The closed-door discussion ended without a vote or formal action. City leaders later said they were still unaware of any deed transfer or official plans tied to the site.

The property is a top taxpayer, and raised concerns about the city’s ability to service debt and the lack of water/sewer capacity to support a population increase, as federal ownership would effectively end the property taxes on the building.

— Eric Weilbacher