Salt Lake City and county sue to block proposed 10,000-bed immigration detention facility
Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County filed a federal lawsuit June 8 seeking to block the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from opening a proposed warehouse-based immigration detention and processing center in Salt Lake City.
The proposed facility could hold up to 10,000 immigrants, according to Associated Press reporting. The lawsuit places the city and county in direct legal opposition to a major planned federal detention operation within the city.
The case does not establish that the facility has been approved, opened or permanently halted. The available reporting also does not establish the lawsuit’s current procedural status or whether a hearing has been scheduled.
What the lawsuit seeks
The city and county filed the case in federal court. Their suit seeks to stop DHS’ plan for the large detention and processing center, which would be based in warehouses in Salt Lake City.
The proposed capacity is significant: up to 10,000 detainees. That figure is a potential capacity, not a confirmed number of people who would be held at the site.
The litigation raises questions about whether the federal project can move forward in the city and how local land-use authority, consultation and public-safety concerns will be addressed. Those issues could shape whether a large-scale federal immigration detention operation proceeds locally.
Warehouse purchases drew scrutiny
The Salt Lake City project is part of a broader DHS warehouse acquisition effort. Between January and March 2026, DHS purchased 11 warehouses nationally for more than $1 billion, according to the AP report.
The report said the Salt Lake City property was purchased for nearly 50% above its 2025 assessed market value. That reported valuation premium is not a finding by the federal court in the city and county’s lawsuit.
The available information does not identify a precise warehouse address or confirm the facility’s final operating capacity. Those details would require confirmation through the complaint or court docket.
What happens next
A newly formed Utah advocacy group, Uproar Utah, said it planned additional litigation or public action against the project. No court hearing date or other procedural deadline was established in the available reporting.
For now, the central confirmed development is the June 8 federal filing by Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County. The lawsuit seeks to prevent DHS from opening the proposed facility; it does not resolve whether the project ultimately will proceed.