ICE buys a Salt Lake City warehouse

A warehouse purchased by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement at 6020 W. 300 South in Salt Lake City is pictured on Friday, March 13, 2026. Photo: McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch

Mayor promises to fight any plans for a possible detention center, saying the city was founded by pioneers seeking refuge

This article was written by Annie Knox.

A Salt Lake City warehouse is the latest in the nation to be purchased by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement as the Trump administration plans a $45 billion expansion of detention centers.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, and a Delaware company on Wednesday finalized the $145.4 million deal, county property records show.

The federal agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on their plans for the facility in an industrial district about a 10-minute drive from the Salt Lake City airport.

Mayors of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, along with Democratic state lawmakers, condemned the sale, raising humanitarian and logistical concerns.

“Let me be clear. A detention center does not belong in our capital city — full stop,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a statement Friday. “The mass detention of people inside a warehouse is inhumane and is contradictory to the function, values and desires of Salt Lakers, and I will use every tool at the City’s disposal to stop it.”

She pointed out the city was settled by Latter-day Saint pioneers seeking refuge in 1847, saying it is “not the place” for a detention center. She said it also doesn’t have the capacity to add such a facility on its west side in addition to the new state prison and a proposed homeless campus.

Mendenhall said the city is looking into legal options and evaluating its power and water infrastructure, adding that the use of a warehouse for detaining migrants “is also wholly outside the scope of our available resources and zoning allowances.”

Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, a Democrat, said she’s “deeply disturbed” by the sale and signaled that local officials face an uphill battle in trying to stop the project.

When rumors surfaced in January that a different site nearby could house an ICE detention center, Wilson noted many came together in protest.

“This time the obstacles may be greater, but our commitment must be just as strong,” Wilson said. “We cannot allow aggressive and often unlawful federal enforcement tactics to take root in our community.”

Utah’s Democratic state lawmakers, led by Sen. Luz Escamilla and Rep. Angela Romero, both of Salt Lake City, warned of potential impacts to residents on the city’s west side, saying “it is particularly alarming that this facility will sit in the heart of one of Utah’s most diverse communities.”

“Life as we know it on the West Side is about to change dramatically, and many families will now live under constant terror,” the lawmakers said in a statement. “This is a defining moment for our state, and we are confident that Utah will come together to stand up for what is right.”

The seller of the warehouse, RREEF CPIF 6020 W 300 S LLC, is a Delaware limited liability company with an address in Chicago, according to county property records.