Romulus warehouse previously considered for ICE detention center now listed for sale

A warehouse in Romulus, Michigan, that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency purchased earlier this year with plans to use it for a detention facility, is officially for sale. 

The facility on Cogswell Street, about six miles from Detroit Metro Airport, is listed as part of a "federal warehouse portfolio" marketed by the international commercial real estate broker firm Cushman & Wakefield.  

ICE purchased the building in February, saying that the project was expected to bring 1,458 jobs in the area and nearly $150 million in economic activity.  

However, the proposal drew outrage from residents and lawmakers, and the Romulus City Council unanimously approved a resolution opposing the development. The Michigan Attorney General's office and the City of Romulus filed a lawsuit in March against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, arguing that the Cogswell Street facility was "not an appropriate place of detention for numerous reasons." 

Michigan officials learned in June that the project was abandoned. 

"The ICE warehouse proposal was every bit as ill-conceived as it was cruel and unnecessary," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said at the time. 

The above video originally aired on June 18, 2026.