‘People’s voices are important’: OKC residents celebrate victory over proposed ICE facility
By Patrick Talbot
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — Dozens of people gathered Sunday at a warehouse in southwest Oklahoma City to celebrate the cancellation of a proposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility that was initially planned for the location.
“People are scared. People are nervous,” said Reagan Burns, who attended the celebration. “This is too close to a school, as well, and some people were nervous about that. So, it was the community that really came, put forth and said, ‘We do not want this here.'”
The gathering followed a city council meeting on Tuesday where more than 60 residents voiced their concerns about the facility, feeling that their voices were heard.
“We don’t need to request that the government follow the special permitting process. We need to insist that it does,” said a speaker at the city council meeting.
On Thursday, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt released a statement announcing that the ICE facility would not be located in the building and commended the owners for agreeing to end conversations surrounding the building.
“People’s voices are important. I know that a lot of people feel like their voices aren’t,” said C.J. Webber-Neal, the organizer of the celebration. “They feel like it really doesn’t matter what they think, because no one’s going to listen to them, but the actions of the mayor in contacting that company to have that discussion, proves that voices count, and I think that this is a victory for Oklahoma City.”
KOCO reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when the negotiations were first announced. A spokesperson said in part, “It shouldn’t come as a surprise that they’re doing this—and that ICE is detaining the worst of the worst undocumented people—murderers, gang members and rapists.”
Even though the facility will not be at that location, it does not mean ICE could not pick or use a different location.
DHS is transforming warehouses across the country, but it’s unclear if they are now looking at other properties in the Oklahoma City area.
“One of the things that we’re trying to do right now, that’s very important, is that we want to make sure, number one, that we mobilize, that we organize,” Webber-Neal said. “Most importantly, that we verbalize what it is that we want as citizens here in Oklahoma City and the state of Oklahoma.”
Those gathered at the warehouse said they hope more people continue to join their cause.
“There is a lot more that unites Oklahomans that what divides us,” Burns said. “This proves that. This proves that Oklahomans are united when it comes to the betterment of their communities.”
But Oklahoma City isn’t the only location in the state that ICE has its eyes on. In Durant, city leaders passed a ban, requiring a permit before a detention facility could be built there. But the federal government still technically has the Supremacy Clause in its favor.
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