Oklahoma City ICE detention center proposal halted after community opposition
By Jason Burger
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt announced Thursday that a proposal to convert a southwest Oklahoma City warehouse into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center has been scrapped after meeting with the out-of-state property owners.
London Moffit, an Oklahoma City resident, attended the city council meeting on Tuesday to oppose the plans.
“So, I want to thank everyone here for speaking with integrity and bravery, while pointing out how ICE has continued to show their lack of it,” Moffit said during the meeting.
Moffit described the experience at the meeting, saying, “I got there around 8:30, they had the meeting, and when I left around 12:45 or 1, there were still people after me that wanted to speak.”
Moffit expressed her relief at the proposal’s cancellation, stating, “I’m very happy about it, I hope it’s not a bait and switch, and I hope they’ll continue their efforts.”
In his Facebook post, Holt announced that the proposed facility for ICE will not move forward, saying the deal between the property owners and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had halted.
Moffit shared some of the comments she heard from other speakers at the meeting, including business owners concerned about the impact on their operations.
“Some came from their emotions, some came from business standpoints, some came from working at Tinker,” Moffit said.
One business owner, who operates a dance studio near the proposed site, expressed concerns about losing business due to fear among potential customers.
“And if I’m losing business because people are scared to come to a dance class, you’re going to lose money as well,” the owner said.
Despite the mayor’s announcement, organizers plan to continue with a protest outside the southwest Oklahoma City warehouse on Saturday.
Moffit spoke of the potential impact on the local community.
“That’s a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in southwest OKC, you’re right next to a school, there’s going to be a lot of issues, lots of people impacted,” Moffit said.
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