Contact State Officials: Stop ICE Warehouses
ICE is scouting warehouses across the country, including in Michigan, to convert into mass detention facilities. State 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: State Officials
Subject: Urging State Action to Prohibit ICE Warehouse Detention Facilities in Michigan
Dear [GOVERNOR WHITMER / SENATOR NAME / REPRESENTATIVE NAME / ATTORNEY GENERAL NESSEL],
I am writing as a Michigan resident to urge you to take immediate state-level action to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from converting industrial warehouses into mass detention facilities in our state.
ICE has purchased or is pursuing approximately 23 warehouse sites nationwide, with plans to detain between 1,500 and 10,000 people per facility. These conversions proceed without adequate community input, environmental review, or infrastructure planning, and they pose serious risks to Michigan communities and the people detained within.
I am calling on you to use your authority to:
Introduce or support state legislation prohibiting the operation of detention or carceral facilities in buildings not originally designed and constructed for confinement. This legislation should apply broadly to protect against federal preemption challenges while ensuring Michigan does not become a hub for warehouse detention.
Direct state agencies (including health, environmental, building standards, and procurement) to deny permits, inspections, and approvals that would enable ICE warehouse detention expansion.
Ensure compliance with federal and state environmental review laws, including demanding that ICE complete a full Environmental Impact Statement with public notice and community input before any warehouse conversion proceeds in Michigan.
Investigate and publicly report on any ICE activity related to warehouse scouting, purchasing, or conversion in Michigan, and use oversight authority to expose plans before they advance.
Prohibit state and local cooperation with ICE warehouse detention, including contracts, facility use, and resource provision that make mass detention possible.
Warehouse detention is inherently unsafe. These facilities lack the water, sewer, ventilation, heating, cooling, and life-safety infrastructure required for large-scale human confinement. They are built for products, not people.
Michigan has the opportunity to lead by rejecting this dangerous expansion and protecting both detained individuals and host communities from harm. Other states are taking action. Michigan must do the same.
I respectfully request a response within 10 business days outlining your position and the concrete steps you will take to prevent ICE warehouse detention in Michigan.
Thank you for your service and for standing on the right side of history.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR CITY, STATE, ZIP]
[YOUR EMAIL]
[YOUR PHONE NUMBER]
