City Council met Thursday night and discussed a zoning change that would move the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office from downtown to a new facility in North Lubbock. But for the second time, that idea was met with some opposition.
City Council heard from more than a dozen people who opposed the facility. They cited topics like security and business success as reasons why they did not want the facility to move there. One citizen even accused City Council of using North and East Lubbock as a dumping ground for unwanted facilities.
After, two representatives spoke in favor of the zoning change. They reminded people this was never planned to be a detention center but instead an ICE processing center.
“They heard ICE, they heard detention center and then jail. Not what this is. It’s a processing facility,” said one of the representatives. “They bring detainees, do paperwork, hold them there for a short time and then transfer them home or to jail.”
Others argued this was not a city zoning issue but instead a political issue.
“I got to say, I don’t want ICE in North Lubbock, I don’t want ICE in Lubbock, I don’t want it in the country,” said one citizen.
Council members Steve Massengale and Jeff Griffith voted yes to the zoning change that would have allowed the facility to move. All other council members voted no. To pass, the zoning change needed a super majority of 6 to 1 to pass.
For now, Lubbock’s ICE facility will remain in its downtown facility.
