The state of Virginia opposes the sale, converting the Pattison-owned warehouse into an ICE facility
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A large warehouse across the street from an outdoor goods store has become a flashpoint in Virginia as the US faces a Trump administration bankruptcy — and a British Columbia company is drawn into the fray.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Hanover County Administration building in Virginia on Wednesday evening when local leadership said they were against converting a warehouse into a detention center for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The board opposes the purchase of this building,” said Hanover Board of Supervisors Chairman Sean Davis in front of a room full of residents.
The US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, will buy the agency from a division of the Vancouver-based Jim Pattison Group. The Canadian company said in a statement that it did not know the warehouse was intended to be an ICE detention center when it agreed to sell the property.
Jim Pattison Developments said it has publicly listed the property for lease or sale and accepted an offer from a “US government contractor” to buy the property.
Businessman and philanthropist Jim Pattison is facing criticism for aligning himself with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Virginia residents are voicing their grievances over the sale of a store owned by Pattison that will become an ICE facility.
“At some point in time, we became aware of the last owner and intended use of the building,” Tuesday’s statement said.
The company said the sale remains subject to approval and closing conditions and intends to “comply with all applicable laws.”
A planned ‘catch and process’ facility
In a letter to Hanover County last week, the Department of Homeland Security said it plans to use the 43.5-acre site as a “holding and processing” facility.
The 550,000-square-foot industrial warehouse is located next to a shooting range, a heating supply store and across the street from a hotel in the small town of Ashland, Va., with a population of just under 8,000.
Homeland Security said the federal department intends to develop a warehouse in Ashland, which is part of Hanover County, to include “holding and processing facilities,” offices and restaurants. Other additions could include “a tent and a guard shack,” the letter said.
The local board said that beyond the letter from Homeland Security, it has not received anything from the federal government about its plans. Davis said the area — made up of businesses, hotels and homes — is not suitable for ICE.
There is not much local leadership can do to stop the development of an ICE facility, as the federal government is generally exempt from zoning regulations. County employees will respond to the federal government to express their objections and communicate potential impacts, Davis said. A local attorney is exploring legal options.
The small state’s consideration of the sale comes amid a crackdown on immigrants in the United States. Two US citizens were shot and killed by government employees in Minneapolis this month, sparking widespread protests.
Virginia is considered a blue state but Hanover County – a quieter area than the nearby capital of Richmond – has many Republican-leaning residents.
Polarization on display
The agency has already highlighted Hanover County’s political divide among residents who spoke before the board on Wednesday.
Some spoke in support of ICE deportations and US President Donald Trump – criticizing the protesters – while others spoke of what they saw as violence against immigrants and protesters at the hands of untrained soldiers.
Mark Stevenson, the bishop of the diocese of Virginia, said that in opposition to the place of detention, the community “stands on the fundamental truth that the value of a person is not in his papers, but in his personality, their relationships and the sanctity of their human dignity.
Parents told the panel that they are worried about security because of the center’s location near homes and shops. Others talked about the impact on nearby property values.
‘What we see in Minneapolis will come here’
Harry Lee Hancock III, who stood outside the county administration building with an anti-ICE sign, said “the concern about this facility is what we see in Minneapolis coming here.”
Hancock said he doesn’t think Jim Pattison Developments should be blamed, but he hopes Canadian companies consider what their properties can be used for before selling them.
Jim Pattison Developments, owned by British Columbia billionaire Jim Pattison, said in a statement that it would not normally comment on confidential transactions.
A Canadian billionaire, from Saskatchewan, is in talks to sell a Virginia warehouse to the US Department of Homeland Security for use as an ICE processing facility. CBC’s Kyle Bakx joined Morning Edition to reveal the criticism that has surfaced about the potential deal and how the Jim Pattison Group has responded.
“However, we understand that the discussion about immigration policy and its implementation is intense, and has become more so in the last few weeks,” she said.
“We respect that this issue is very important to many people.”
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1518, the union representing food workers across BC, wrote to the Jim Pattison Group on Monday urging it to “reject any involvement that could contribute to the ongoing assault on human rights.”
BC Attorney General Niki Sharma said on Tuesday that business leaders need to look at whether their decisions have an impact on American immigration.
