ICE Detention Facility Proposed in Ionia County

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility could be coming to Ionia County.

Wood TV 8 reports that Ionia County Commissioner Jack Shattuck says he received an email from ICE last week asking about a 106-acre lot just off M-66 near the airport.

The proposed detention facility could hold approximately 600 undocumented immigrants.

Ionia County representatives say the plan is in the beginning stages and nothing has been decided. They believe many areas across the state are being considered.

Reps told Wood TV 8 that the facility could bring more than 200 jobs to the area which would be "great for the county".

The ACLU of Michigan is opposed to project, saying it is not necessary. Miriam Aukerman with the ACLU of Michigan told Wood TV 8,

“There has been this massive ramp in immigration detention and it’s absolutely unnecessary. People can fight their immigration cases from home while they’re working, while they’re contributing to the community, while they’re raising their kids so that those kids don’t get traumatized by having a parent locked behind bars."

According to The Daily News in Greenville, this is the second location ICE has had its eye on in the county. ICE had previously proposed a detention center at the old Deerfield Correctional Facility, but Gov. Whitmer blocked the sale saying that "building more detention facilities won’t solve the nation’s immigration crisis."