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In an 8-2 vote, San Antonio City Council approved a resolution directing city staff to explore zoning changes and a possible moratorium on private detention facilities.
Thursday's decision comes a month after Immigration and Customs Enforcement purchased an East Side warehouse to hold up to 1,500 people who have been arrested by immigration authorities and are awaiting processing. That in turn sparked public backlash, protests, and marathon City Council meetings where members of the public urged the council to take action.
The resolution calls on the city manager to determine what changes may be allowed under city code related to regulation and zoning in order to protect public health, safety, and welfare. District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez successfully added an amendment on the same 8-2 vote to create a potential moratorium on the creation of detention centers.
The city cannot directly prohibit the federal government from setting up a facility due to the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution.
McKee-Rodriguez said the goal is to discourage future facilities operated by private companies.
“We believe they're going to look to detain way more than that, and it is likely that they'll look at leasing or finding other private owners to pop up detention centers and expand the presence of these types of facilities, regardless of whether it’s the federal government or a private entity,” he said.
According to the city attorney, there are no privately owned detention centers currently in San Antonio.
District 9 Councilwoman Misty Spears and District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte were the two “no” votes. District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan was absent from the meeting.
Whyte said this was an attempt to use the city’s Unified Development Code as an easy way to circumvent federal immigration law.
“That sets a very dangerous precedent for things that could happen in the future, and it's disappointing that we are spending so much time and taxpayer money on this today,” he said.
The resolution says that San Antonio is a welcoming city committed to protecting everyone’s dignity and humanity. It notes that detention facilities are not currently defined as a specific land use in city code.
Amin Tohmaz, director of the city’s Development Services Department, said the city could potentially create a specific zoning category for detention facilities and establish minimum spacing requirements from incompatible nearby uses like parks and residences.
That process would take weeks or months of community feedback. A standard timeline shows a vote on city code changes taking place in June, or as early as April on an expedited timeline.
As for moratoriums, which temporarily prohibit development, City Attorney Andy Segovia told council members the process takes longer than code changes.
“The reason staff is not recommending a moratorium is a moratorium at most will get you six months of not having a facility there. It would require, frankly, and it's counterintuitive, a much longer process that would take six to nine months,” Segovia said. “That would require two hearings, 30 days notice, written findings saying how the facility would harm the community, public health, etcetera.”
McKee-Rodriguez said the city could explore both a moratorium and zoning changes under the final resolution.
Thursday’s meeting was also the first time the city presented progress on other aspects of ICE's presence in San Antonio. As part of council direction last month, the city manager and the city attorney’s office were tasked with evaluating the legal limits of more than 20 different initiatives.
Among those is reporting ICE requests for assistance from SAPD and the costs the city incurs responding to them. The city expects that first report to be out by the end of March.
Another is a community reporting mechanism for alleged rights violations related to immigration enforcement. The city is evaluating whether a third party can offer the service.
“One thing for consideration is that the city cannot act on those reported alleged violations,” said Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez. “As we are exploring having a third party being the keeper of that data, or being the intake for that data, we anticipate having that in place by the end of this month.”
Another initiative would be the creation of a justice fund to support nonprofits and people affected by ICE enforcement with legal services. The legal risks of such a fund are being evaluated to mitigate risk, according to city documents. That evaluation is expected to be completed by April 15.
