Updated June 18, 2026, 6:42 pm — This story has been updated to include a statement from Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight.
Romulus, Mich. (WZMQ) – Federal immigration authorities have abandoned plans to convert a Romulus warehouse into a mass detention facility following a lawsuit filed by the city and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, with officials from both the state and city announcing the news Thursday.
The city of Romulus said it is its understanding that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE no longer plan to convert the commercial warehouse at 7525 Cogswell St. into a detention facility and instead will announce plans to sell the building. The lawsuit, City of Romulus and State of Michigan v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, remains pending.
Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight credited DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin for the reversal.
“We want to thank DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin for listening to us and taking into consideration the issues that would have made this the wrong location for a detention facility,” McCraight said. “Romulus will be in a better position to grow and continue to thrive with this decision.”
McCraight was careful to frame the city’s opposition as site-specific rather than a broader rejection of immigration enforcement.
“The city’s position should not be confused with opposition to responsible enforcement of our country’s laws,” he said. “Instead, the facility’s proximity to residential neighborhoods, schools, and wetlands made it the wrong location.”
McCraight also thanked a long list of officials who supported the city’s effort, including state Reps. Miller, DeSana and Wegela, state Sen. Camilleri, U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell and Rashida Tlaib, and U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin.
“While this situation is not completely resolved, we are optimistic that it will soon be complete,” McCraight said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II also praised Nessel’s role in a separate statement Thursday.
“The proposed ICE detention center in Romulus was widely opposed by the local communities,” Whitmer said. “I commend the efforts of Attorney General Nessel, Romulus Mayor McCraight, and our state and federal lawmakers for putting a stop to this facility.”
ICE purchased the Cogswell Street warehouse in February without notifying state, city or public officials, intending to house up to 500 detainees. Nessel and the city filed a federal lawsuit March 24, seeking to block construction. The suit alleged the site was unsuitable because it sits within a mile of multiple schools, borders residential neighborhoods, lies within a floodplain and lacks the infrastructure to support hundreds of detainees. It also argued DHS and ICE violated the Administrative Procedure Act by bypassing state and local officials and failing to consider alternative sites.
The proposal had drawn fierce opposition since February, when lawmakers, faith leaders and community advocates rallied against it. Tlaib called for ICE to be abolished, while Dingell and others pledged to withhold DHS funding.
ICE’s footprint in Michigan has grown significantly in recent years. The North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, the largest ICE detention facility in the Midwest, reopened as a detention center in June 2025 with a capacity of 1,800 detainees. Federal data show ICE arrested 2,349 people in Michigan between January and October 2025, nearly triple the total from the same period the prior year.
