Hanover supervisors oppose ICE facility site in statement, but authority is limited

Hanover County supervisors on Wednesday night issued a statement opposing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s plan for a detainee processing facility in the county, but local officials acknowledged their power over ICE’s presence is limited.

Hundreds of people packed the supervisors’ meeting room, most of whom opposed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s plan to purchase and repurpose a 552,576-square-foot warehouse on nearly 44 acres on Lakeridge Parkway in Ashland. The meeting took place as ICE agents’ actions in Minneapolis, including the killings of two U.S. citizens, have provoked protests and calls from U.S. elected officials for blocking the agency’s congressional funding.

Hanover County Chair Sean Davis read aloud a statement that the county had drafted in closed session earlier in the day, urging ICE to reconsider purchasing the property.

According to Davis, the county first received a letter Jan. 22 from the Department of Homeland Security confirming its intent to purchase a privately owned 43.49-acre site at 11525 Lakeridge Parkway in Ashland for an ICE processing facility. Davis said the letter marked the first direct communication the county had received from the federal government regarding this proposal.

Before that letter arrived, rumors were circulating online, and residents spoke about the matter during the board’s Jan. 14 meeting, Davis said. While county staff attempted to obtain information from DHS and the property owner, he said they were unsuccessful. Other than knowing ICE plans to use the site as a processing facility, Davis said there are no other details about the proposed use or when it could begin operating.

The warehouse, built in 2024, had previously been marketed as a potential distribution center. The property is currently owned by Canadian real estate developer Jim Pattison Developments, based in Vancouver. According to county tax records, the site is expected to have an assessed value of $50.48 million this year.

Davis said the county was not part of the selection process or consulted on the matter before the Jan. 22 notice. He told the audience the federal government is generally exempt from county zoning regulations, and the board is limited in being able to prevent federal facilities from operating.

According to the county, the site is located within the Lewistown Commerce Center Community Development Authority, an area intended for commercial and industrial use. Despite the federal government’s exemption from local zoning regulations, the county government has concerns about the location of the proposed facility due to its proximity to retail businesses, hotels, restaurants and several residential neighborhoods, including a historic district. Davis noted the site is also adjacent to county-owned land intended for future public use.

“Simply put, a DHS facility at this property on Lake Ridge Parkway is not consistent with the established land use for the business, residential and commerce area,” Davis said.

Davis said the board directed the county attorney and staff to evaluate potential impacts of the proposed facility and provide a detailed summary to DHS outlining Hanover’s land use policies and other identified concerns.

ICE’s letter said the county had 30 days to respond and provide comments on the proposed undertaking. The county’s response to DHS is due in mid-February.

Supervisors said they believe the processing facility will change the character of the area, impose unplanned demands on county services and revenues of at least $1 million annually, and urged the DHS to consider alternative locations and to work with the county on future site selection.

“It is clear,” Davis said, that the location is inappropriate, and had the government contacted the board earlier, it could have shared concerns about the detrimental impacts. However, he said the board’s objection should not be read as a position on processing or detention operations in general.

National issue

The board has requested support from U.S. senators and representatives to help identify a more suitable location for the site, and the county attorney will continue to help evaluate the county’s legal options, the board’s statement said.

“The lack of early communication from the federal government has created understandable concern, as well as a substantial amount of confusion and misunderstanding,” he said.

Davis said beyond Wednesday’s statement, the board is not providing additional comments at this time.

DHS and ICE issued a statement Thursday but did not give further details about the Hanover proposal or a potential ICE facility in Stafford County reported by The Washington Post.

“We have no new detention centers to announce at this time,” an ICE spokesperson said in an email. “These will not be warehouses — they will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. 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.”

Jim Pattison Developments has not responded to requests for comment on the matter.

According to The Canadian Press, the developer said it was unaware the warehouse would be used as an ICE holding facility when it agreed to sell the property. The company said it publicly listed the site and accepted an offer from a U.S. government contractor, later learning of the building’s ultimate owner and intended use. The sale is still subject to approvals and closing conditions, and the company said it will comply with “all applicable laws.”

ICE’s actions in recent months have sparked significant controversy and protests nationwide. On Jan. 7, an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old American citizen Renée Good during an immigration enforcement surge operation in Minneapolis. Less than three weeks later, on Jan. 24, federal immigration agents shot and killed U.S. citizen Alex Pretti, 37, an intensive care nurse for an area Veterans Administration hospital.

Earlier in January, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government, including ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, alleging suspicion-less stops, racial profiling and unconstitutional arrests during an enforcement surge in the Twin Cities.

Virginia’s Democratic U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner have said they will not support an appropriations bill for Homeland Security unless there are significant reform measures regarding immigration and border enforcement tactics. Other Senate and House Democrats and Republicans have called for full investigations of the shootings of Good and Pretti.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger, on her first day in office, signed an executive order rescinding the state’s requirement that local police and state police cooperate with ICE, although it did not cancel existing 287(g) agreements between individual police departments and the federal agency.