PORTLAND, Ore. -- Immigration officials have revealed a plan to create holding cells in Portland's slowly up-and-coming South Waterfront neighborhood.
It's part of a nationwide plan to consolidate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Officials said they want to expand upon an existing commercial building in the South Waterfront District at SW Macadam Ave. and SW Bancroft St. The proposed building would house all the employees who currently work at two federal buildings in the city, including the old federal facility at 511 SW Broadway Ave. in the Pearl District.
Those facilities currently have holding cells for people suspected of violating customs and immigration rules. Those holding cells would transfer to the new South Waterfront location under this new plan.
"No one will be kept in these locations for more than 12 hours," said ICE spokesperson Lorie Dankers. "In no way is this a jail or a detention facility, rather it's a place where we can hold people for processing for a short period of time."
Before the three-story expansion would move forward, it must pass a public design review process. The federal government would have to prove that it was a good fit for the mixed-use neighborhood before it could gain permission to build.
The next public hearing for this plan happens September 23rd, 1:30 p. at 1900 SW 4th ave. on the 2nd floor.
