BREAKING NEWS: Stafford County Board 'May Not Have Input' on Possible Immigrant Detention Center

Chair Deuntay Diggs says the county is monitoring a recent Post story that said a large-scale immigration detention center may be coming to Stafford County.

By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Early this morning the Washington Post named Stafford County as one seven locations in Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia and Missouri where the U.S. government may “renovate” industrial warehouses, converting them into large-scale detention centers, each holding 5,000 to 10,000 immigrants. An additional 16 smaller warehouses across the nation would each hold up to 1,500 people.

The report is based on a “draft solicitation [that] is not final and is subject to changes,” according to the Post.

The plan, however, apparently hasn’t reached the level of county government. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs told the Advance in a phone interview that he has spoken with the sheriff’s office and the regional jail staff to ask if anyone has heard about this and “no one has.”

“We are actively looking into the situation and monitoring it.”

There are numerous questions surrounding how the government would lease warehouse space — among the most pressing is: Would the county have the right to refuse to allow a detention center within its boundaries?

The Post spoke with Stafford Supervisor Pamela Yeung and reported her saying that a leased warehouse in the county would need to match zoning laws and building codes.

“Immigration policy is federal, but its impacts are local,” Yeung told the Post in an emailed statement. “Any facility of this scale would affect infrastructure, public safety, and social services.”

How much input the county may actually have, however, is uncertain. Diggs told the Advance via phone that “the Board may not have input into this, depending on how they do it and what they do.” If they need a Conditional Use Permit, he said, “the Board could have input, but it’s hard to say” at this time.

According to the solicitation quoted by the Post, these detention centers would “maximize efficiency, minimize costs, shorten processing times, limit lengths of stay, accelerate the removal process and promote the safety, dignity and respect for all in ICE custody.”

The Post also quoted an Arizona Mirror story that said ICE acting director Todd M. Lyons told people at a border security conference in April, “We need to get better at treating this like a business … Like (Amazon) Prime, but with human beings.”

This is a developing story. Stay with the Advance for additional information as we learn more.

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