BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Public speakers again protested Bradford County’s willingness to host an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility on the outskirts of Starke, with many appealing to commissioners’ sense of decency.
If an agreement is reached with the federal government, ICE would take over the Douglas Building and surrounding acreage just south of the city alongside both commercial and residential development. City utilities would be extended to the property and the warehouse renovated to house 1,000 detainees, with 2,000 more housed in outlying buildings added to the site. There would be no direct cost to the county government, which would retain ownership of the property and the improvements.
There were questions about the details and concerns about consequences that may not have been considered. Many were also concerned ICE’s actions and the characterization and treatment of immigrants under President Donald Trump’s administration did not match community values.
Speaker Carol Mosley said the commission “threw caution to the wind” when it voted (3-2) in January to propose that ICE locate a detention center here, offering very short notice to the public. Mosley told commissioners that overstaying a visa is a civil offence, not criminal. Crossing the border without documentation is a misdemeanor unless the immigrant has been previously deported, she added.
“I don’t think many of us realize that many of those being picked up by ICE in this mass deportation effort have no criminal offense charges at all. They are not the worst of the worst. All too often, they are hardworking community members, many with U.S. citizen children or spouses. That is what is upsetting to people,” she said.
Mosley predicted chaos if ICE comes, including local agencies and businesses having to compete with the higher federal salaries offered to employees, the lack of housing for the 1,250 employees needed to run the facility, the demand for water and electricity, the increased sewage, garbage and traffic, and the growing protests threatening to divide the community.
“Exodus 12:49, ‘The same law applies to both the native born and to the foreigner residing among you.’ Let’s take a beat and iron out some of these wrinkles first,” she said.
Anya Griffis also questioned opening a detention facility in a few weeks’ time without residents being able to properly evaluate the impacts. She requested full public briefings and impact reviews before any further action is taken on the Douglas Building. Paul Still echoed this, asking the board to suspend discussion between the sheriff and county manager and the consultant who helped develop the proposal. He questioned if Sabot Consulting had been properly procured. He carried on a comment from Steve Winekoff, who questioned the legitimacy of the county’s acquisition of the Douglas Building since it would not be used for economic development.
Mark Frazier expressed opposition to the building being used as an ICE detention center. “Our participation in this attack on our immigrants will leave a permanent stain on our community,” he said, citing Cato Institute numbers that only 27% of detainees have a criminal record, and most of those are “minor offenses.”
“ICE raids violate unreasonable search seizure and due process rights guaranteed to all persons under the Constitution. They result in the separation of parents from children, causing profound emotional and psychological distress,” he said. “Reports and allegations surrounding the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention guards suggest a pattern of serious misconduct, abuse and systemic failures, raising significant questions about their character and professionalism. Detainees, advocacy groups and federal investigations have highlighted instances of physical violence, racist behavior, as well as inadequate or contaminated food and water.”
Mark Frazier questioned whether Sheriff Gordon Smith would have any ability to inspect the facility, saying public officials have been turned away at other facilities, some arrested.
“I urge you to vote against any such use of Bradford County facilities. This would be a disaster for our community,” he said.
“This issue is not about being for or against immigration. It’s about what kind of future we want for this country and this county, how we use our limited resources, and whether this project actually delivers the benefits that supporters promise,” Robin Frazier said, questioning claims like job creation. “Most positions require specialized training and are frequently filled by workers brought in from the outside. Local hiring is limited. Wages are modest, and profits are funneled to private contractors, not the community. Meanwhile, the long-term economic identity of the town becomes tied to incarceration even more than it already is. This discourages the diverse business investment and growth.”
Robin Frazier said the cost to the community include pressure on local infrastructure and emergency services, subsidized by local taxpayers. “We also need to consider human dignity and accountability,” she said. “ICE detention centers across the country have faced repeated allegations of poor medical care, unsafe conditions and lack of transparency. Whether someone supports strict immigration enforcement or not, most people agree that government facilities should meet basic standards of safety, oversight and fairness. Building a detention center here ties Bradford County to a system that has struggled to uphold those standards nationwide.”
Instead of a project that doesn’t make communities safer, she said the county should invest in a better future.
“There are better alternatives for Bradford County’s future. The community deserves investments that build people up, not lock people away. Job training programs, renewable energy projects, health care facilities, small business developments, youth programs and educational partnerships create sustainable growth without moral or financial tradeoffs. The question before us is simple: Do we want Bradford known as a detention community or as a place that invests in opportunity, dignity and long-term prosperity? We could choose a future that strengthens this community, protects its values and uses public resources wisely. We should not build an ICE detention center.”
Kayleigh Harper spoke of biblical teachings about those in need and “the stranger,” saying nations would be judged by how they treat them. Millions of immigrants in danger of deportation are also Christians, she said. Millions of U.S. Christians have someone in their household in danger of deportation. Speaking of Jesus’ own parents, she asked, “What papers would they have needed to survive and live in this country?” People have come here for hundreds of years, she said, but the goal post keeps getting moved.
Kate Ellison said commissioners were under too much pressure to act at their prior meeting and claims about local control were too easily accepted. “Local control is not what’s happening in other detention camps, and we are no different. GardaWorld is the provider designed to make a profit on the detainees, and local management would cut into their bottom line,” she said. “But let’s say our local sheriff has some control of the facility. What would he do? What could he do if ICE brought him a 5-year-old or a 15-year-old? Keep them in the cages?”
Ellison said the facility and its population of detainees and staff would be huge compared to the city of Starke’s 5,800 residents. Managing it would require a contract too specialized for ICE’s consideration.
“For an operation like ICE, required to arrest 3,000 people a day, our facility is but one of hundreds — insignificant and not qualifying for special arrangements. Please stop this ill-conceived plan. You can stop it right now,” she said.
Tommy Alexander, a self-professed prophet, said he has been preaching in churches for five years about the coming “concentration camps.”
“I’m observing that Starke is a Christian community, but you is on the edge to make a bad decision now,” he said. “God took me out from what I had to do today to come to warn you. … What I see is driving this — and somebody said it — money, the love of money. You better love God. We better put God first, because I’m here to tell you, your soul is at stake.”
Diane Williams said that until this year, immigration enforcement was being run “according to the law and Constitution.”
“That’s not happening today, and so far, it’s resulted in a lot of bad stuff and two murders right in front of our eyes,” she said. “I grew up in the Jim Crow South. I went through the Civil Rights Era, and we saw some bad stuff then, and this is eclipsing that.”
Communities around the country are pushing back, including in red states, so it’s not political, she said. It’s about morality. She quoted numbers saying more than 70,000 are currently incarcerated including children and infants, and for longer than 20 days. That, she said, is immorality.
Debbie Burger urged the board to listen to those who had spoken. “The concerns they have should mean something to you. Deep in your heart, you know what’s right and wrong,” she said, adding that Americans were lied to about the worst of the worst being targeted. “Look at our concentration camp — I’m sorry — Alligator Alcatraz. There are there are people missing. How can we be assured this isn’t going to happen here? This is a moral issue. You seem to be all great people, and I hope that you’ll do what’s right for this community and listen to the people before you.”
Ozell Jones asked for unity — for people to come together “to work these things out.”
“We can’t let money lead us and guide us. Let our hearts lead us and let us examine ourselves and try to do things that’s going to help one another, and build one another up, and not tear one another down,” he said. “Let the spirit lead us and guide us and let good people come together to be problem solvers. Let’s be problem solvers for everybody I ask and pray in Jesus’ name.”
No action or discussion by the commission on the proposal was scheduled for this meeting. The commission’s next meeting is Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m.
