Question spiral over rumored ICE facility in Highland Park

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (FOX 2) - Metro Detroit lawmakers are working to figure out if an ICE Facility is being built in Highland Park or just a rumor in D.C. 

On the ground at home, FOX 2 asked those questions too.

"Highland Park, Michigan, was on that list, so we are trying to figure out if this is accurate. I still don’t have the answer to that question, but it has definitely raised the alarm," State Senator Stephanie Chang said. "I’ve been in contact with Mayor Glenda McDonald, Rep. Tanya Meyers-Phillips—we all represent HP, we all care about HP, and none of us want an ICE detention center in Highland Park. We are hearing from residents as well who very much do not want to see a detention center in their community."

Big picture view:

As of Tuesday, FOX 2 has not heard back from the White House or the Department of Homeland Security on whether it is happening in Highland Park.

This stems from reports that the Trump administration wants to use warehouses nationwide to house illegal immigrants to speed up deportations, seven large facilities and 16 small ones, with Highland Park potentially the site for one of the smaller facilities that would house up to 1,500 people.

It’s already getting major pushback from state and federal lawmakers and Highland Park’s mayor, who says she found out on Christmas Eve when a reporter called her.

"My first reaction was, no, this cannot happen. HP is not the place for this. We are a very small town. We do not want this here. It does not represent what we stand for or what I stand for, as well as a lot of citizens who have made it clear they don’t want this here," said Mayor Glenda McDonald. "We are going to be fighting this with everything that we have."

What's next:

ICE apparently plans to share this blueprint with private companies to collaborate with and gauge their interest in these centers.