U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Wednesday that the agency has purchased land and a facility in San Antonio to expand its detention operations, though officials declined to disclose the location of the property in question.
In a statement to the San Antonio Report, an ICE spokesperson said the purchase is part of a broader national effort to increase detention space.
“ICE purchased land and a facility in San Antonio,” the spokesperson wrote. ”These will not be warehouses — they will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards.”
The agency said the expansion is being carried out under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and is aimed at increasing capacity as immigration enforcement activity continues to increase nationwide.
“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe,” the statement read. “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 agency cited new federal funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill that has enabled the expansion of detention spaces to “keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities.”
While ICE confirmed the purchase, the agency has not released an address, timeline for opening the facility or details about how many detainees it could hold.
Oakmont 410
In the days leading up to ICE’s confirmation, local media reports had cited anonymous real estate industry sources claiming the agency was considering — and potentially closing on — a massive vacant warehouse on San Antonio’s East Side known as Oakmont 410.
The nearly 640,000-square-foot industrial building, located near Loop 410, was touted as one of the city’s largest warehouse developments when it was completed in 2022.
As of Wednesday, there are no public records showing a completed transaction involving ICE, DHS or the federal government tied to the Oakmont 410 property. The San Antonio Express-News reported that the sale closed on Monday.
City officials have said they are not required to be notified of private real estate transactions involving the federal government, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the reports.
The speculation surrounding Oakmont 410 prompted swift and vocal reactions from local and state leaders, many of whom strongly opposed the possibility of a detention facility in the area.
Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, whose precinct includes the Eastside property, issued a sharply worded statement Wednesday afternoon condemning the expansion of ICE detention centers.
“I am firmly opposed to this facility and have been one of the only elected officials in the nation to successfully block the establishment of these horrific detention centers — one in Universal City and another in San Antonio,” Calvert said.
Calvert compared the spread of detention facilities to tactics used by authoritarian regimes, arguing the expansion was not about immigration enforcement.
“None of this is about immigration. It’s about creating illegal exceptions everywhere. It’s about turning ICE into a secret state police that is permitted to do anything,” he said.” We will fight it, we will dissect those who are financially benefiting, and we will boycott them and hold them accountable under the law.”
He also questioned the need for additional detention space, pointing to existing facilities across Texas and the nation.
“You mean to tell me that with a 1,402-acre facility in Rio Grande City, Texas and facilities all over the nation, that we have run out of room for detainees?” Calvert said. “These facilities are a front for more nefarious things to come if we don’t stop them.”
San Antonio City Council District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez urged residents in a social media post Sunday to pressure Oakmont Industrial Group, the owner of the warehouse, to refuse any sale for use as an ICE detention facility.
“ICE detention centers don’t belong in our community,” McKee-Rodriguez wrote, citing concerns about human rights abuses and the site’s proximity to schools and parks.
State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer went further in a statement Wednesday, asserting that ICE had already purchased the Oakmont 410 property — a claim that has not been independently confirmed by city officials or public records.
Fischer called on U.S. senators to increase local oversight of federal immigration enforcement operations and criticized ICE and DHS for what he described as a lack of accountability.
City and county say they have not been notified
Despite ICE’s confirmation of a purchase somewhere in San Antonio, city and county leaders said they have not received any formal notification regarding the transaction or plans for a detention center.
“The city has no direct information on the reported sale of the Eastside property to ICE,” said Brian Chasnoff, assistant director of communications for the City of San Antonio on Tuesday. “The City is not involved in real estate transactions unless the property is being sold or purchased by the City.”
Chasnoff added that under state and federal law, the city would have no zoning authority over federal government property or property leased by the federal government, meaning federal facilities are not required to follow local zoning rules or permitting processes.
Bexar County Commissioner Grant Moody said Wednesday prior to the confirmation that county officials have also not been briefed on any confirmed purchase.
“I haven’t been briefed on the details here,” Moody said. “Commissioners have had no say in this. We really haven’t been granted any kind of access to information around the purchase or sale.”
Moody said he believes there are many buildings and different agencies operating in San Antonio and in the surrounding area. “I don’t know all the details or what the plans are at this point to really have a detailed perspective on that.”
Max Woliver, director of communications for District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte, provided the following statement.
“At this time, Councilman Whyte’s office is unable to confirm this information or provide additional details.”
