Federal immigration authorities are eyeing a massive empty warehouse in Hutchins, Texas that could potentially house up to 9,500 detainees — more people than currently live in the entire town.
Internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement documents reviewed by the Dallas Morning News reveal plans to convert a vacant million-square-foot warehouse at 950 N. I-45 into what would be one of the largest immigration detention facilities in the country. The Hutchins site, located at the intersection of I-45 and I-20, sits on over 61 acres and is part of the PointSouth Logistics & Commerce Centre, according to documents obtained by local media.
Part of Larger Detention Expansion
The proposed facility isn’t a one-off plan. It’s actually part of a much broader initiative to add at least 20,000 detention beds across four Texas locations, including another mega-center near El Paso designed to hold 8,500 people, as revealed in planning documents.
In fact, the Hutchins warehouse appears to be just one piece of an even larger national strategy. ICE reportedly plans to establish seven warehouse-based detention centers near logistical hubs nationwide, potentially creating space for more than 80,000 detainees in total, according to industry sources.
“The warehouses we have are for storage, not for holding people,” noted one critic familiar with the plans.
Local Impact Concerns
How would a town absorb a detention facility larger than its population? That’s the question facing Hutchins, a community of fewer than 8,000 residents that would see its infrastructure strained by such a massive facility.
The proposed detention center would be located adjacent to the existing Hutchins State Jail, creating what some locals fear could become an outsized correctional complex in the small community. Despite rumors circulating about the purchase, the property is still listed as available by Majestic Realty.
When contacted about the plans, ICE officials provided a carefully worded statement that neither confirmed nor denied the specific Hutchins proposal.
“We have no new detention centers to announce at this time,” an ICE spokesperson said. “Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”
The vague response has done little to quell local concerns about the potential impact on the small community, which would be transformed overnight if the facility moves forward at the scale described in internal planning documents.
For now, residents of Hutchins are left watching an empty warehouse, wondering if it will soon house more people than their entire town.
