The Fight

A 640,000-square-foot warehouse at 6900 S. International Pkwy, McAllen TX — situated in an industrial park in the city’s trade corridor, less than five miles from the Anzalduas International Bridge — was included on a list of potential ICE facility sites that circulated online in February 2026, with plans reported for up to 500-bed ICE processing capacity. McAllen is already home to a CBP-run processing center (the Rio Grande Central Processing Center, widely known as “Ursula”), which drew national scrutiny in 2019 over detention conditions.

Status correction (as of July 2026): the property is owned by Centennial Park LLC and marketed by NAI Rio Grande Valley; it remains actively listed for sale on LoopNet. Investigative tracking site Project Salt Box notes that previous confirmed DHS warehouse purchases elsewhere were typically discovered only when their LoopNet listings were abruptly taken down — the McAllen listing, by contrast, is still live, indicating no completed sale as of the most recent check. No primary source (government contract record, county deed filing, or named DHS official) was found substantiating the widely-repeated “$66 million” purchase figure; that figure does not appear in the Texas Tribune’s original April 13, 2026 reporting, which explicitly states “little is known about ICE’s plans for the McAllen warehouse” and that DHS did not respond to questions.

The McAllen site is part of the same Noem-era DHS warehouse target list that produced the much larger, confirmed Socorro purchase in El Paso County (826,780 sqft, $122.8M). Both are in South Texas, but their acquisition status differs materially: Socorro is a completed purchase, McAllen is not.

Timeline

• 2026-01-01: Texas SB8 takes effect statewide, requiring Hidalgo County’s sheriff (like nearly all Texas sheriffs) to formalize a 287(g)-or-equivalent agreement with ICE by Dec 1, 2026; county PIO Raul Gonzalez says the jail is already fully cooperative with ICE and expects no operational change — see kb/industry/notes/tx-sb8-mandatory-287g-2026.md for the statewide picture
• 2026-02: Warehouse at 6900 S. International Pkwy circulates on leaked list of potential ICE detention sites; facility is in McAllen’s trade corridor near Anzalduas International Bridge
• 2026-03 (late): DHS pauses warehouse purchases under a review of contracts signed under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem; Project Salt Box’s tracker shows 11 of the leaked-list sites purchased nationally, 11 cancelled, and 7 (including McAllen) still pending — no completed transaction for McAllen
• 2026-04-14: Nine Rio Grande Valley residents address the McAllen City Commission, demanding the city reject any public funding for ICE facilities and push for transparency about federal plans; Commissioner Rudy Castillo says he had not heard of the issue before the meeting but supports adding it to the agenda
• 2026-04-14: Mayor Javier Villalobos states he has not been contacted by federal officials; says city’s options are limited because federal facilities are generally immune from local zoning authority
• 2026-06-05: Separately, a protest (organized by Chriselda Vera / Blue Bunny Brigade) reveals a second, long-undisclosed ICE site in the county — the Edinburg Sub Office, DHS-owned since 2021 — showing county-level ICE infrastructure exposure is broader than the McAllen warehouse alone (see facilities/tx-hidalgo-edinburg-ice-sub-office.md)
• 2026-07 (this update): McAllen property confirmed still listed for sale on LoopNet under Centennial Park LLC ownership; no purchase completed as of this research pass

Community and Government Response

The April 14 commission meeting marked the first formal public airing of community opposition in McAllen. Speakers raised concerns about the proximity to residential areas, the lack of local notification, and the precedent for more federal detention infrastructure in the Valley. A local Substack, The Rio Grande Current, published a piece (“Why Is McAllen So Quiet?”) contrasting McAllen’s muted institutional response with more vocal opposition in Hutchins (near Dallas, where the property owner ultimately declined to sell/lease to DHS) and Socorro (where residents packed city council chambers).

The DHS pause on warehouse purchases creates uncertainty about the timeline. Under the Noem-era contract review, it is not clear whether the McAllen acquisition will be completed, renegotiated, or canceled — and as of July 2026 the property has not changed hands.

Context

McAllen sits at the epicenter of the Rio Grande Valley border corridor and is already host to the CBP “Ursula” processing center, which drew national scrutiny in 2019. The city has historically cooperated with federal immigration enforcement. Community advocates note that unlike some other Texas cities, McAllen has no formal sanctuary or ICE-limiting ordinance, leaving residents primarily reliant on federal oversight and public pressure. The Hidalgo County fight is separate from — but runs parallel to — the much larger, and completed, El Paso / Socorro purchase.

Key Actors

• Mayor Javier Villalobos — says city lacks zoning authority over federal facilities
• Commissioner Rudy Castillo — open to placing ICE facility on commission agenda
• Rio Grande Valley community residents — nine speakers at April 14 commission meeting

Sources

• Texas Tribune: McAllen residents push back against ICE facility (Apr 13, 2026)
• MyRGV: McAllen officials face outcry opposing ICE facility (Apr 14, 2026)
• KSAT: McAllen area residents push back against any ICE detention facility in their community (Apr 14, 2026)
• Border Report: McAllen area residents push back (Apr 2026)
• Project Salt Box: Still on the List — An Update on ICE’s Remaining Warehouse Targets (2026)
• The Rio Grande Current: Why Is McAllen So Quiet? (2026)
• LoopNet: 6900 S International Pky, McAllen TX listing