Dozens of residents spoke out at a Concord City Council meeting Thursday night against a possible immigration detention center in the area.
A February report by The New York Times said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking to purchase a 414,000-square-foot warehouse near Concord Mills. The facility could hold up to 1,500 detainees.
Many residents urged city leaders to oppose any such plan.
Ann Marie Schuler, a 30-year Concord resident, addressed the council.
“We ask you to be vocal," Schuler said. "We ask you to oppose any suggestion that ICE detention centers are in any way under consideration here, and they are certainly not welcome.”
Rev. Leonard Jarvis also raised concerns about the project’s impact on the city’s identity.
“If you were to allow an ICE detention center to be erected in this community, that’s the image they’re going to think of as far as Concord is concerned,” Jarvis said.
WFAE spoke with a leasing agent for the property on Weddington Road, who said ICE has not contacted them about a potential purchase.
City council members took no action.
