Minnesota Lawmakers Back Community Push to Block ICE Detention Center in Woodbury

Minnesota lawmakers are standing with constituents who are demanding their city reject any role in the Trump administration's plan to build a network of mass detention centers for immigrants.

State Representatives Shelley Buck and Ethan Cha, along with Senator Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger, released a statement supporting Woodbury residents who presented a petition at the March 25th city council meeting. The petition calls on the council to adopt a resolution opposing any ICE detention center in Woodbury and restricting the use of city property as ICE facilities or staging areas.

"From the Woodbury City Council meetings to the Senate District 47 townhall meeting last week, the constituents of District 47 feel it is important to our community to make a strong stance against ICE and any ICE detention centers in the district," the legislators said in their statement.

The community action follows a January report from the Washington Post revealing that the Trump administration plans to convert warehouses across the country into detention facilities to accelerate deportations. Woodbury was specifically listed as a potential location for one of these facilities.

Mayor Anne Burt has a proclamation on the agenda for the April 8th city council meeting, though the content of that proclamation has not been disclosed. The legislators are calling on the council to provide transparency and adopt the resolution residents presented.

"Our community deserves transparency from the council," the statement reads. "Our local resources should be used to improve our streets, expand affordable housing, support our children and families, and ensure our city remains a welcoming home for all Minnesotans."

The Trump administration's warehouse conversion plan represents a significant expansion of immigration detention infrastructure. Rather than relying solely on existing detention centers, the administration is seeking to rapidly increase capacity by repurposing commercial and industrial buildings in communities across the country.

Critics of the plan point to the well-documented problems in existing ICE detention facilities, including reports of inadequate medical care, unsanitary conditions, and deaths in custody. Expanding this system into converted warehouses raises questions about oversight, conditions, and the use of local resources to support federal immigration enforcement.

The Woodbury community's response reflects growing resistance in cities and towns that have been identified as potential detention sites. Residents are organizing to ensure their local governments do not provide land, facilities, or cooperation for what they view as an inhumane and unjust expansion of the deportation system.

"Standing together as a community only makes us stronger," the legislators said.

The April 8th city council meeting will be a key test of whether elected officials in Woodbury will side with the community petition or leave the door open for ICE to establish operations in the city. The legislators' statement makes clear where they stand, and where they believe the council should stand as well.