SAN ANTONIO – Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones asked the state’s U.S. senators and five San Antonio-area U.S. representatives in a letter Wednesday to not funnel any money or resources to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE)’s recent purchase of an East Side warehouse.
Jones first revealed her plans to send the letter to the federal delegation in a Q&A with KSAT 12 anchors Myra Arthur and Ernie Zuniga during KSAT’s 6 O’Clock News on Tuesday.
The mayor addressed the East Side facility in the video player below.
The Texas delegation representing the San Antonio and South Texas areas is comprised of U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R) and Ted Cruz (R), as well as U.S. Reps. Greg Casar (D), Joaquin Castro (D), Henry Cuellar (D), Tony Gonzales (R) and Chip Roy (R).
“I respectfully request that you vote against any funding bill that would allocate resources for the proposed 640,000-square-foot facility reportedly acquired by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at 542 SE Loop 410 Access Rd, San Antonio, Texas,” Jones’ letter began.
ICE officially confirmed the purchase of the facility to KSAT on Feb. 5. The property was purchased for more than $66 million by the United States of America, according to documents released by the Bexar County Clerk’s Office.
The buyer’s address was listed as the ICE Headquarters in Washington, D.C., the documents said.
The San Antonio site will function as a processing facility with up to 1,500 beds, rather than a large-scale detention center, according to reports from The Washington Post and The Dallas Morning News.
In the letter, Jones called for “transparency” regarding the “proposed ICE facility.” She said the mayor’s office and city staff have not “received formal notification” regarding the purchase.
KSAT reached out to ICE on Wednesday afternoon regarding how the agency will use the facility and a timeline of when it would open.
On Wednesday afternoon, an ICE spokesperson shared the same statement with KSAT from when the agency confirmed the facility purchase on Feb. 5.
“These will not be warehouses — they will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards," an ICE spokesperson said, in part. The spokesperson also cited the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which the agency said would help it secure “new funding to expand detention space.”
In her letter, the mayor described a suggestion that the new ICE facility would be a “jobs opportunity” for the East Side as “insulting and inaccurate.”
“I would offer a better way to increase jobs: Eliminate the tariffs that have driven up costs in our community, and reverse the proposed cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and SNAP as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Jones said, in part. “Such steps would actually help people.”
Cuellar, who is the U.S. representative serving the area where the new ICE facility is located, sent KSAT a statement Wednesday where he said he opposed the agency’s purchase.
“As Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, I’m opposed to this project and demand clear answers from ICE. If federal dollars are being used – particularly funds from the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), which I voted against – there has to be full transparency and accountability to the public. In the meantime, I’m pressing for a detailed briefing and reviewing every legislative and appropriations tool available in regards to this project. I don’t believe this is useful to taxpayers’ dollars and I do not support it.”
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar
Jones concluded her letter by saying the facility “would negatively affect” the economy on the East Side.
“I welcome a conversation to discuss more strategic ways to enhance the economic development of our city,” Jones said. “To be perfectly clear, we do not want this ICE facility in our community and ask that you please not fund it.”
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