Contact Local Officials: Stop ICE Warehouses

Apr 24

ICE is scouting warehouses across the country, including in Michigan, to convert into mass detention facilities. Local officials have the power to stop these projects through zoning authority, permit denials, and public opposition.

Use this letter template to urge your local representatives to take a stand. Simply copy the template, fill in the bracketed information with your details and your official's name, and send it via email or mail. Personalizing with a sentence about why this matters to you makes it even more powerful.

Official contact information is listed below the letter.

Template Letter: Local Officials

Subject: Urgent Request to Oppose ICE Warehouse Detention in [YOUR LOCALITY]

Dear [OFFICIAL NAME/TITLE],

I am writing as your constituent in [CITY/TOWNSHIP/COUNTY] to urge you to take immediate action to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from converting warehouses in our community into mass detention facilities.

ICE is actively scouting and purchasing industrial warehouses nationwide, including potential sites in rural Michigan, to detain between 1,500 and 10,000 people per facility. These conversions bypass traditional community input, strain local infrastructure, and normalize the confinement of human beings in spaces designed for storing products, not people.

I am asking you to publicly commit to the following:

Oppose any ICE warehouse detention or processing facility in [YOUR LOCALITY] and use all available zoning, permitting, and regulatory authority to prevent such conversions.
Refuse to provide public funding, permits, infrastructure access, or services that would enable ICE to operate a detention facility using our local resources.
Demand full transparency and environmental review before any federal detention action proceeds, including compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and state environmental laws, and ensure meaningful community input.
Pass a local resolution making clear that mass detention facilities are not welcome in [YOUR LOCALITY] and that warehouses, industrial buildings, and non-carceral spaces will not be approved for detention use.

Our community deserves better. Detention warehouses divert critical resources like water, electricity, and emergency services away from residents. They overwhelm local infrastructure, foreclose economic opportunities, and place our locality at the center of a system documented for abuse and inhumane conditions.

Twelve warehouse sales have already been canceled nationwide due to organized community opposition. Local leaders in Utah, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Mississippi have taken bold action to protect their communities, and I'm asking you to do the same.

I request a response within 10 business days outlining your position and the specific actions you will take to keep ICE warehouse detention out of [YOUR LOCALITY].

Thank you for your leadership and for standing with our community.

Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR EMAIL]
[YOUR PHONE NUMBER]