ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Construction is set to begin one week from Saturday to turn the Kenneth B. Keating Federal Building in downtown Rochester into an ICE detention center.
RELATED: ICE detention facility construction to start soon in downtown Rochester, officials react (May 15)
News10NBC’s Declan Stablow reported from the federal building, which currently houses a federal courthouse, offices and a daycare. The federal government says this is a cost-cutting measure.
Comments from Congressman Joe Morelle
Morelle held a press conference on Saturday, calling for more transparency from the federal government on this project. “There is nothing responsible about dropping detention cells into the downtown community in Rochester without explaining how they’ll operate, without explaining how those security measures will be created, what they’ll look like, or what risks this creates for the workers in the public that utilize this building every single day,” Morelle said. “And there’s certainly nothing humane about the climate of fear.”
Morelle said construction on the center will last more than a year. The U.S. General Services Administration says the building was approved for this purpose five years ago.
Full statement from the Monroe County Republican Committee
The Monroe County Republican Committee says this shouldn’t be controversial and that it’s more humane and efficient to process people locally and keeps people from being sent to remote facilities. Local Democratic leaders are speaking against the center.
“Reports that a federal immigration processing and temporary detention space will be utilized within a federal building in Rochester should not be treated as controversial. Federal authorities routinely use federal facilities to carry out federal responsibilities, including immigration enforcement. A federal building is a reasonable and appropriate place for federal processing.
“No matter one’s views on immigration policy, there should be agreement that keeping these operations local is not only practical; it is more humane. Processing individuals in Rochester avoids transporting them long distances to remote facilities, keeps them closer to their families, and allows better access to legal counsel. Local processing also supports faster case review and more efficient coordination with the courts.
“What is striking is the selective outrage now coming from some local Democrats. Many of these same voices argue that individuals subject to immigration enforcement pose no threat, yet they now claim that lawful federal processing inside a secure federal facility creates danger to nearby services. Those positions cannot both be true.
“Federal law does not enforce itself. Regardless of political views on immigration policy, federal statutes must be carried out. Doing so locally, in an existing federal building, promotes transparency, supports due process, and avoids unnecessary transfers to distant locations.
“Using a federal facility for lawful federal responsibilities is not extreme; it is common sense.”
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans and Monroe County Executive Adam Bello have also spoken out against the center. You can read their statements from February by clicking here: New York lawmakers and others respond to plan to put Border Patrol detention center in Rochester
Construction to install an ICE detention center in Rochester sparks conversation from local officials WHEC.com.
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