Statement on proposed ICE detention facility in the 9th Aldermanic District

There is a very alarming development that has come to my attention, and it is only fair and right to make the residents of District 9 and the entire city aware as I, with the support of my colleagues, begin to collect information and look for answers of what can be done about it.

We in District 9 have received a request, through a third party, to support a federal agency as it plans to move into our district. That agency is ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) under the Department of Homeland Security. They have requested that we support modifications to a building in our district located at 11925 W. Lake Park Dr. Those modifications include adding a sally port and a chain link fence with privacy slats. A sally port, in respect to customs, will be used to transport prisoners to and from the facility.

I want District 9, and the rest of the city, to know that we do not support the Department of Homeland Security in their decision to move into our district, and we definitely do not support any such modifications to any building in our district (as a location to house prisoners!).

Understand that we did not have representation when the Department of Corrections practically forced the location of a 32-bed youth detention facility on us, but this time, we have a voice. There will be a press conference held TOMORROW (Wednesday, January 15) at 1 p.m. outside of the facility at 11925 West Lake Park Dr.

We invite representatives from all organizations that will be impacted by this to attend the news conference. Milwaukee’s 9th Aldermanic District will no longer be Wisconsin’s dumping ground for detention facilities.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.