A decision to move forward with plans for an immigration detention center in downtown Rochester has elected leaders speaking out.
U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle says he received confirmation that the federal government is proceeding with the Keating Building project.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, state Sen. Jeremy Cooney and Rochester Mayor Malik Evans are also criticizing the decision, saying the Trump administration is ignoring the wishes of local community members.
“The federal government ignored our community, dodged basic questions, and decided to move forward with this project anyway. The answers we received were evasive, insulting to the people of Rochester, and refused to address concerns about the impact this facility will have on families and children who use this building every day,” Morelle said in a statement.
“The Trump administration is moving ahead like a bull in a China shop with a bad plan to house a CBP detention facility in downtown Rochester with zero support or input from the courts and the Rochester community,” Schumer said in a statement. “This is not the right building for this kind of operation. They are denying Rochester a voice and hiding answers to basic questions about what will happen at this facility. No more secrecy, no more decisions behind closed doors, stop this plan and let the community make their voices heard.”
“The Keating Federal Building is home to a daycare and essential services for Rochesterians – it is not the place for detention cells that will only serve to harm members of our community,” Cooney said in a statement. “Rochester residents have made their voices heard loud and clear: we do not want this in our downtown as it does not reflect our values. I continue to be opposed to this decision by the Trump Administration and am deeply concerned about what this will mean for our city.”
“I reiterate my opposition to the creation of a detention center at the Keating Federal Building in downtown Rochester,” Evans said in a statement. “Prior assessments of the building, along with its current function as a federal courthouse with a daycare, make it a horrible location for this use. For border patrol to disregard overwhelming community sentiment and continue to pursue the repurposing of this location without local input is inexcusable.”
Earlier this year, a laundry list of state and local officials came out against plans to construct holding cells at the federal building.
Many claimed it an inappropriate use of the space with court offices and a daycare already on-site.
At the time, the U.S. General Services Administration said court officials approved Customs and Border Protection as a tenant there five years ago.
Customs and Border Protection said if that space comes to fruition, the Keating Building site would replace their current station in Irondequoit.
The GSA cited a presidential directive requiring them to consolidate space, necessitating the move.
Spectrum News 1 has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for more details.