Case: Salt Lake City Corporation v. Mullin

[This summary is temporary while we research the case]. On June 8, 2026, Salt Lake City Corporation and Salt Lake County filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and their respective senior officials, challenging the federal government's purchase and planned conversion of a large warehouse into an immigration detention facility. The complaint alleged that on or around March 11, 2026, DHS purchased an 833,000 square-foot warehouse in Salt Lake City, Utah, intending to convert it into a detention center housing between 7,500 and 10,000 detainees as part of ICE's nationwide "Detention Reengineering Initiative" (DRI). Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants failed to conduct any required environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and failed to consult with state and local governments as required by the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act (ICA). The complaint further alleged that the proposed facility would cause severe local impacts, including consuming one to two million gallons of water per day amid an existing drought emergency, overwhelming sewage systems, worsening an ongoing measles crisis, and straining local law enforcement resources at significant public expense. Plaintiffs sought declaratory relief, vacatur of the purchase decision, injunctive relief halting conversion of the warehouse, and attorneys' fees and costs.