Broad Coalition Opposes New Immigration Enforcement Facility

While President-elect Donald Trump is pledging to initiate a process to deport millions of undocumented immigrants when he comes into office Jan. 20, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is proposing to open a new office on Milwaukee’s far Northwest Side.

Area Alderwoman Larresa Taylor now finds herself as the head of a coalition strongly opposing the facility.

“District 9 is a very proud district, we’re very diverse,” said Taylor at a press conference in front of the building Wednesday afternoon. “We are a district that has tremendous potential, but that doesn’t mean we are going to accept any and everything. And that certainly doesn’t mean we are going to allow someone to come into our district without warning or without our knowledge.”

ICE would move into an office building, 11925 W. Lake Park Dr., located on the northern edge of the Park Place business park. Taylor said plans include a sallyport to transport prisoners and black, privacy fencing around the property. A private developer is leading the proposal and would lease space to the federal government.

According to an internal Jan. 8 city email from Department of City Development (DCD) planning manager Sam Leichtling, ICE and its private development partner intend to invoke the federal government’s authority to build the facility in the Park Place business park without the need for city zoning approval. A rezoning request was withdrawn by the developer.

A zoning change would be otherwise required to enable its development in a vacant, 36,000-square-foot building. The agency would occupy half of the building.

“I am firmly opposed to any expansion of any ICE-type detention facilities in the City of Milwaukee. People are scared, kids are scared, this is the time to push back hard… we will push the envelope as far as we can ensure families are treated fairly,” said Common Council President José G. Pérez. He said he would ensure that the Milwaukee Police Department only cooperates with ICE when a warrant has been issued. “Federal facilities simply popping up with no notice simply isn’t fair to the citizens of Milwaukee.”

The facility would replace a two-decade-old downtown facility, 310 E. Knapp St., that is due to be redeveloped as part of the Milwaukee School of Engineering campus. Another Department of Homeland Security agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, relocated to a different downtown building in 2023.

Business improvement districts in the area are opposed to the move.

“This is a beautiful building that could house many things, and not a building that could take kids away from their families,” said Granville Business Improvement District director Mary Hoehne. “We shouldn’t sit back and let the government tell us this is going to be a prison.” She said ICE was interested in the facility for its freeway access. “We will not sit by and let this happen.”

“The 9th District has been tasked with carrying the burden of so many social ills that we are dealing with. We have lost over 75 acres of prime commercial, industrial land to solving social issues,” said Stephanie Harling, head of the Havenwoods Business Improvement District. She was referring to the new state youth prison that was approved while the aldermanic district did not have a representative. “We are not solving any problems here. We are displacing the problem and we are putting that problem on the back of residents in district nine.”

“It does not bring jobs, it does not bring housing and it does not bring investment,” said area Assembly Representative Russell Antonio Goodwin, Sr. “Instead it risks bringing tension and unity where we need unity and progress… the people here deserve a voice on what is built in their neighborhood.”

“Shock, fear, anger and what do we do next?” said State Senator Dora Drake in describing her feelings upon learning of the relocation.

“We are not here to sound an alarm or raise anxieties. We are here to inform the people,” said Taylor.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s office said they have not received direct information from ICE or the General Services Administration, but have received limited information from the private developer and city’s congressional delegation that the facility is a relocation, not an expansion.

“The city will review the owner’s submittal, and to the extent allowed by law, make sure any facility confirms to the ordinances that apply,” said a spokesperson. “The Mayor has expressed his opposition to the rhetoric and hostility directed toward immigrants. He wants all residents, irrespective of immigration status, to be appropriately respected.”

Taylor said she has been told the facility would operate in the same fashion as it does Downtown, open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and processing immigrants and detainees.

She said the facility would not house anyone overnight, but a project narrative says it could be used to process people and then transfer them to other holding facilities. Approximately 29 people would work at the facility.

The alderwoman said she first learned there was something proposed for the vacant building in December from DCD. She told Urban Milwaukee she received more detailed information on Jan. 8. Taylor went public with her concerns on Jan. 14.

Milwaukee Governmental LLC, an affiliate of Illinois-based WD Scorsch, acquired the property for $2.55 million in October. The company specializes in developing properties for the government. “At W.D. Schorsch, we use our federal government experience and knowledge to help with GSA and VA real estate projects,” says its website.

Taylor told Urban Milwaukee she has a meeting planned with the property owner for next week.

A project architect applied for a commercial alteration permit in December. But the Department of Neighborhood Services labeled its request as a “Public Safety Facility,” a prohibited use in the business park, and determined a zoning change would be necessary to enable the project to proceed. But if the federal government is listed as the tenant on the lease, the agency can sidestep local zoning review.

It is not clear what, if any, connection the proposal has to Trump’s plans, which are expected to involve the military. The October property purchase occurred before Trump won the election and the relocation, according to the 2023 zoning file, was first publicly revealed almost two years ago.

But opponents said they have long opposed ICE’s actions, including its downtown office.

A reporter for Fox 6 was shouted down by the dozens of supporters in attendance for questioning why it was directed at Trump. “Next question,” shouted activist Tracey Dent.

“Our community has spoken loud and clear about the need for humane and due process immigration reform,” said Carmen Ortiz of the Southside Organizing Center. She characterized the facility as a mass detention facility.

“We are not looking at policy right now,” said Taylor, stressing her concern was with the relocation of an existing facility to her district. “We would like to keep researching, we would like to keep fact finding.”

Officials at DCD did not respond to a request for more information. A Department of Neighborhood Services official said their department did not have additional information on the December permit requests.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Several city, state and county officials joined community leaders in attendance at the event. Council members JoCasta Zamarripa, DiAndre Jackson, Milele A. Coggs, Mark Chambers, Jr. and Sharlen P. Moore were joined by City Treasurer Spencer Coggs, County Supervisors Juan Miguel Martinez and Jack Eckblad and Representatives Darrin Madison Jr., Priscilla Prado and Ryan Clancy

“We stand ready and we won’t stand for intimidation of our residents, of our neighbors, of our constituents,” said Zamarripa in reading a letter from her colleagues. “Not now, not ever, not one family separated and not in our city.”

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