ICE has been quietly purchasing warehouses across the U.S. in order to convert them into detention and processing centers. The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed seeking additional space but has not publicly disclosed a list of potential or confirmed locations.
In many instances, local officials and residents have reportedly learned about proposed or completed acquisitions only after the fact. Information about these projects has often surfaced through reporters or tips provided by local activists rather than through formal announcements from federal agencies. We have strong reason to believe that Harlingen is on the list.
The uncertainty surrounding whether a new detention center will come to the Rio Grande Valley should serve as a warning that communities must organize now. Once detention infrastructure is built, it becomes deeply embedded in the political and economic landscape. Families are already being separated, but that doesn’t mean we should surrender the chance to prevent more harm before it begins.
The Rio Grande Valley already understands the human cost of aggressive immigration enforcement. Residents have seen fear spread through schools, workplaces, churches, healthcare facilities, and neighborhoods. Harlingen, in particular, has been listed as having higher average daily ICE arrests than the city of Houston, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Washington D.C., according to the New York Times. Because of Harlingen’s immigration court and proximity to existing detention infrastructure, it is no wonder ICE has continuously eyed Harlingen for its detention expansion plans.
But we can act before things get worse.
One of the most important forms of resistance that our community can practice is education. Every resident, regardless of immigration status, should know basic constitutional protections. People have the right to remain silent, the right to refuse consent to a search in many situations, and the right to speak to a lawyer. Families should have emergency plans, trusted contacts, and an understanding of what federal law enforcement can and cannot do. Even in circumstances when federal law enforcement violates someone’s rights, as in the case of the Donna family, where ICE agents jumped a private fence to access their home, knowing what violations look like can better equip us to identify and handle these cases in a court of law. The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
It’s also important to recognize that there are indeed community organizations working to reduce the harm we’ve been witnessing, but they need stronger public support. Groups like La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE) and the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) have been providing Know Your Rights presentations and uplifting stories of those facing immigration proceedings in the Rio Grande Valley. These organizations cannot carry the burden alone. Churches, schools, unions, neighborhood associations, and local businesses all have a role in ensuring residents know where to turn for reliable legal and community support. We are in this together.
Local governments also have a responsibility to act. City councils across the Valley can publicly oppose new detention facilities, require transparency in negotiations with private prison contractors, and decline to use local resources for civil immigration enforcement beyond what the law requires. Councils can fund legal aid clinics, partner with community organizations to host rights trainings, and ensure public libraries, schools, and community centers distribute multilingual constitutional rights information. And if a city council says they can’t do anything, the public deserves to hear this directly from them in a public meeting. Because in a time where private prison companies and federal agencies are openly boasting about detention expansion, transparency from our city officials matters now more than ever.
Harlingen and the broader Rio Grande Valley have always been defined by resilience, family, and solidarity across borders and cultures. This moment we’re in carries consequences far beyond a single detention center. Communities now face a choice between silence and collective action while there is still time to prepare, organize, and defend the rights of the people they call home.
If you want to learn more about detention expansion, we would like to invite you to a presentation on May 16th, 2026, at 11 A.M. at the ENTRE Film Center in Harlingen, hosted in collaboration with LUPE, TCRP, the ACLU of Texas, Trucha, Voces Unidas, Frontera Fund, and PoderLatinx.
Editor’s Note: The above guest column was penned by Michael Mireles and Victoria Fajardo. Raised in Alton, Texas, Mireles is the son of migrant farm workers. He manages issue-based campaigns in the Rio Grande Valley. Fajardo works in the civic engagement department at La Unión del Pueblo Entero and has a background in political science. Raised in the colonias of the RGV, her work focuses on the policies and institutions shaping life in border communities across South Texas.
