"In a Texas town at the edge of the Rio Grande and a tall metal border wall, rumors swirled that federal immigrationofficials wanted to purchase three hulking warehouses to transform into a detention center. As local officials scrambled to find out what was happening, a deed was filed showing the Department of Homeland Security had already inked a $122.8 million deal for the 826,000-square-foot (76,738-square-meter) warehouses in Socorro, a bedroom community of 40,000 people outside El Paso."
""Nobody from the federal government bothered to pick up the phone or even send us any type of correspondence letting us know what's about to take place," said Rudy Cruz Jr., the mayor of the predominantly Hispanic town of low-slung ranch homes and trailer parks, where orchards and irrigation ditches share the landscape with strip malls, truck stops, recycling plants and distribution warehouses."
Federal immigration authorities purchased an 826,000-square-foot warehouse complex in Socorro, Texas, for $122.8 million to house detainees. Socorro is one of at least 20 U.S. communities with large warehouses targeted for Immigration and Customs Enforcement's $45 billion detention expansion. Many local officials learned of purchases only after deeds were filed, prompting shock and complaints about lack of communication. Officials and residents warned the facilities could strain water supplies and other services and reduce local tax revenue. Mayors, county commissioners, governors and members of Congress expressed frustration over stealth acquisitions amid sagging public support for mass detentions.
Read at Fortune
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