Salt Lake City UT — ICE Mega Center (833,000 sq ft warehouse) · UT · 7,500-10,000 beds (mega center) · ICE (federal)

Overview

On March 12, 2026, ICE finalized a $145.4 million purchase of an 833,000 sq ft warehouse at 6020 W 300 S in Salt Lake City — in the Mountain View Industrial Park, west of Salt Lake City International Airport. Mayor Erin Mendenhall disclosed that ICE plans this as one of its eight “mega centers” with capacity for 7,500-10,000 people under the “hub and spoke” reengineering initiative.

The Purchase

Price: $145.4 million
Prior owner: Deutsche Bank through a series of subsidiaries
Markup: More than 50% over estimated market valuation (~$50M in excess taxpayer cash to Deutsche Bank subsidiary, per More Perfect Union)
Size: 833,000 sq ft on 25 acres
Purchased through: A Delaware shell company (typical for federal purchases to avoid alerting sellers)
Planned capacity: 7,500-10,000 beds (mega center designation)

Deutsche Bank Connections

Cumulative $2.5 billion in loans to Trump over two decades
Continued lending after Trump sued them for a defaulted loan
Held approximately 40 Jeffrey Epstein accounts
Germany-based multinational declined to comment on the sale

Community Response

March 18-19, 2026: Hundreds of protesters gathered at the warehouse chanting “ICE out!” Three arrested in clashes with Salt Lake police. Parallel protest at Governor’s Mansion.

March 25, 2026: Salt Lake City Council voted to restrict water use at the facility — following the Social Circle, Georgia model of using municipal utility control as a resistance tool.

March 30, 2026: Mayor Mendenhall vowed to “use every tool at the City’s disposal to stop it.”

Pre-Contracting (Pipeline Signal)

Jan 9, 2026: GEO Transport Inc. (GEO Group subsidiary) awarded $10.4M contract (up to $49.7M with extensions) for detainee ground transportation in Salt Lake City — a full two months before ICE publicly purchased the warehouse. This confirms the advance contracting pattern: private prison companies are positioned before facilities are even announced.

DHS Pause (March 24, 2026)

New DHS Secretary ordered a pause on conversion plans for this warehouse and 10 others nationwide. As of April 8, 2026, status remains uncertain pending DHS review.

Infrastructure Weapons

Water: City Council capped water use for large nonresidential buildings at 200,000 gal/day, eliminating government exemption (March 25)
Sewage: City raised capacity objections — facility would generate 1-2M gallons wastewater daily vs. current 5,600 gallons. Infrastructure upgrades costing millions needed (April 6)
Utah Inland Port Authority declared it “will not use any resources to support this facility”

Key Actors

Mayor Erin Mendenhall — leading opposition, disclosed mega-center plans, vowed to use “every tool”
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson — sent letter to DHS urging them to “abandon” the project
Gov. Spencer Cox — endorsed the facility (state vs. city/county split), but frustrated at not being notified
Democratic state lawmakers — humanitarian and logistical concerns
Rev. Monica Dobbins (First Unitarian Church) — compared facility to Utah’s WWII Topaz internment camp

Detention Pipeline

Salt Lake City UT — ICE Mega Center (833,000 sq ft warehouse)