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A gigantic warehouse across the street from an outdoor equipment store has become a flashpoint in Virginia as the U.S. grapples with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown — and a British Columbia company has been pulled into the fray.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Hanover County Administration building in Virginia Wednesday evening where local leadership said they didn’t support the conversion of a warehouse into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility.
“The board opposes the purchase of this property,” said Hanover Board of Supervisors Chair Sean Davis in front of a room packed with residents.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, is set to purchase the facility from the property arm of Vancouver-based Jim Pattison Group. The Canadian firm said in a statement that it did not know the warehouse was intended to become an ICE holding facility at the time it agreed to sell the site.
Jim Pattison Developments said it publicly listed the site for lease or sale and accepted an offer from “a U.S. government contractor” to buy the property.
Businessman and philanthropist Jim Pattison is facing criticism over associations with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Residents in Virginia are voicing their concerns over the sale of a warehouse owned by Pattison that would become an ICE facility.
“Some time later, we became aware of the ultimate owner and intended use of the building,” it said in the statement dated Tuesday.
The firm said the sale remains subject to approvals and closing conditions and it intends on “complying with all applicable laws.”
Planned ‘holding and processing’ facility
In a letter to Hanover County last week, the Department of Homeland Security said it plans to use the 43.5-acre site as a “holding and processing” facility.
The 550,000-square-foot industrial warehouse is located near a shooting range, a heating equipment supply store and across the street from a hotel in the small town of Ashland, Va., with a population of just under 8,000 people.
Homeland Security said that the federal department intends to develop the warehouse in Ashland, which is part of Hanover County, to include “holding and processing spaces,” offices and cafeterias. Other additions could include “tentage and a guard shack,” the letter said.
The local board said beyond the letter from Homeland Security, it received no communication from the federal government about its plans. Davis said the location — which had been developed for businesses, hotels and homes — is not appropriate for an ICE facility.
There is not much the local leadership can do to halt the ICE facility’s development, as the federal government is generally exempt from zoning regulations. County staff will respond to the federal government to express its opposition and communicate potential impacts, Davis said. The local attorney is evaluating legal options.
The small county’s consideration of the sale comes in the midst of an immigration crackdown in the United States. Two U.S. citizens have been shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis this month, prompting widespread protests.
Virginia is considered a blue state but Hanover County — a much quieter area than the nearby capital of Richmond — has a lot of Republican-leaning residents.
Polarization on display
The facility has already highlighted the political polarization of Hanover County among residents who spoke before the board Wednesday.
Some talked about supporting ICE and U.S President Donald Trump’s deportations — condemning protesters — while others spoke about what they see as violence toward immigrants and demonstrators at the hands of untrained federal forces.
Mark Stevenson, a bishop in the diocese of Virginia, said by opposing the detention facility, the community is “standing on the fundamental truth that a person’s value is not in their paperwork, but in their personhood, their relationships and the sacredness of their human dignity.”
Parents told the hearing they were concerned about safety due to the detention centre’s location near homes and stores. Others mentioned the impact on nearby property values.
‘What we see in Minneapolis will come here’
Harry Lee Hancock III, who stood outside the county’s administrative building with an anti-ICE sign, said “the concern about this facility is what we see in Minneapolis will come here.”
Hancock said he doesn’t think Jim Pattison Developments should be blamed but he does hope Canadian companies consider what their assets could be used for before they sell them.
Jim Pattison Developments, owned by British Columbia billionaire Jim Pattison, said in its statement that it would not normally comment on a private transaction.
A Canadian billionaire, who is from Saskatchewan, is in talks to sell a Virginia warehouse to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for use as an ICE processing facility. CBC’s Kyle Bakx joined the Morning Edition to break down the criticisms that have emerged about this potential deal and how Jim Pattison Group has responded.
“However, we understand that the conversation around immigration policy and enforcement is particularly heated, and has become much more so over the past few weeks,” it said.
“We respect that this issue is deeply important to many people.”
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1518, a union representing food workers across B.C., wrote to the Jim Pattison Group on Monday urging it to “decline any involvement that would contribute to the ongoing attack on human rights.”
B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma said Tuesday that business leaders need to consider whether their decisions are contributing to the U.S. immigration crackdown.
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