ICE will no longer use Socorro warehouses, scraps detention center plans

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Tuesday, U.S. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar announced some Socorro, Texas, warehouses bought by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will instead go to the U.S. General Services Administration.

"I’m pleased to announce that the Department of Homeland Security has transferred the Socorro warehouses to the General Services Administration (GSA). This means the warehouses will be put up for sale and they will no longer be used by the federal government for detention purposes," Rep. Escobar said in a press release.

In March, an ICE spokesperson told ABC-7 the agency bought property in Socorro to build "well-structured detention facilities" to hold up to 8,500 detainees.

By June, the Department of Homeland Security changed its plans to use the property as an ICE campus with offices, conference rooms and a privately-owned detention facility, Rep. Escobar said.

Rep. Escobar is holding a press conference about the now scrapped plans in Downtown El Paso Tuesday at 1 p.m.