San Antonio residents are speaking out after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) purchased a nearly 640,000-square-foot warehouse on the city’s East Side. ICE has not publicly confirmed how the property will be used, but federal officials have acknowledged that similar facilities across the country are being considered for expanded immigration detention.

The possibility that this site could become a massive ICE detention center is deeply troubling. San Antonio is a city built on families, neighborhoods, and community—not large-scale detention. We should not be turned into a detention hub without transparency, public input, or local consent.

Once the federal government purchases property, the City of San Antonio loses zoning and permitting authority. That means a detention facility of enormous scale could move forward even if residents, neighborhood leaders, and local officials strongly oppose it. Decisions with impacts this serious should not be made behind closed doors.

San Antonians hold a wide range of views on immigration, but many agree on this: expanding detention facilities in our city is not the solution.

We call on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE to commit—clearly and publicly—that no ICE detention facility will be opened or operated within San Antonio city limits. We also urge our elected officials at every level to oppose this project and stand with the community.

San Antonio deserves transparency, accountability, and a real voice. Sign this petition to say it plainly: No ICE facility in San Antonio.