New details emerge for ICE detention facility planned in Michigan

Melissa Nann Burke, The Detroit News on Feb 27, 2026

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DETROIT — A federal floodplain notice published by the Department of Homeland Security spells out new details about the agency's plans to use a warehouse in Romulus as an immigration processing and detention facility.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in response to the notice blasted federal officials Friday for failing to engage the public, the state or local officials about the environmental and public health issues posed by the building plans, saying that the agency seems "determined not just to ignore the need for such cooperation, but to frustrate it."

"Through its conduct, ICE appears intent to operate a mass detention facility a stone’s throw from a middle school, an elementary school, and a protected wetland. What’s more, ICE purchased the warehouse before any attempt to communicate with the State of Michigan, its agencies, or any local governing body about it," Nessel wrote in a Friday letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The federal notice of proposed activity in 100- to 500-year floodplain indicates that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is proposing to "acquire and retrofit" the 473,158‑square‑foot warehouse facility at 7525 Cogswell St. in Romulus for use as a Detention Processing Center.

The Romulus facility would provide "short‑term, temporary housing for individuals in immigration custody who are awaiting immigration processing and related administrative procedures."

About 19 acres of the 27-acre property built in 2000 would be used for a "secure operational area" and would be enclosed by installing 3,800 linear feet of new security fencing, according to the notice.

Public comment on the published notice, which is required because the property is within flood hazard areas, was to be received by DHS on or before Friday. It's unclear how long the public comment period was open.

ICE in a Friday statement to The Detroit News said the agency already purchased the Romulus site and claimed the facility and its construction are expected to bring 1,458 jobs to the area and would contribute $149.9 million to the economy, though “these economic benefits don’t even take into account that removing criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers."

"These will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards," the agency said in a Friday statement. "Sites will undergo community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase."

In the federal floodplain notice, ICE claimed that it had evaluated "other practicable alternatives" that would have minimized environmental and community impacts, but the first-choice property at 17991 Wahrman Road became unavailable, and the Cogswell Street warehouse building was deemed the "most viable remaining option."

"At the time of the decision, no other existing facilities outside the mapped floodplain were available that could meet ICE’s operational, security, infrastructure, and schedule requirements without substantial new construction, relocation outside the Area of Responsibility, or greater environmental disturbance," the notice states.

Nessel on Friday called on ICE to cease further development of the property, to "plainly and publicly articulate" its intentions for the warehouse and to comply with state and local laws and permitting requirements for the project’s impacts to the environment.

The federal notice makes clear, Nessel said, that the Romulus warehouse is not designed or outfitted to "house, feed, bathe, protect or provide adequate care for individuals detained by ICE ― let alone persons numbering in the hundreds."

Nessel said so little information was provided in the floodplain notice that her team can't assess if the project would comply with federal environmental, flood disaster or administrative procedure laws. She also noted that ICE hasn't applied for or even contacted the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE, for permits that would be needed for construction in a floodplain.

The agency notice also claims that "no municipal system constraints" have been identified but that statement holds no water since ICE "never engaged with state, county or municipal officials," Nessel wrote.

A recent letter by Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight said no local officials were contacted or notified regarding plans to use the commercially-zoned property for a detention facility.

McCraight vowed this week that the city would not issue a permit or certificate of occupancy for the facility while he’s in office, as the City Council adopted a resolution Monday in opposition to the ICE plans.

Signs about the Department of Homeland Security building regulations "governing conduct on federal property" were recently posted on the front doors and windows at the facility, which is just off an industrial stretch of road, across the street from an auto repair shop and a few miles from residential neighborhoods.