Residents say proposed ICE facility in Starke would cause ‘mass civil unrest’

STARKE, Fla. — Approximately 23 local advocates and residents filled the Bradford County Courthouse today to voice their opposition to the proposed ICE facility in Starke.

The facility was brought forth by Sabot Consulting and would take over the Douglas warehouse off US Highway 301. Bradford County Commissioners voted 3 to 2 in January to move forward with the proposal, with Kenny Thompson (District 2), Chris Dougherty (District 3), and Diane Andrews (District 5) voting yes, and Carolyn Spooner (District 1) and Danny Riddick (District 4) voting no.

The proposal states that the ICE facility could house up to 3,000 detainees and employ 1,250 people on a 30-acre site. These numbers combined make up 77% of Starke’s entire population.

Residents mentioned that the number of employees and detainees at the facility would put a major strain on the small town’s already limited resources, like emergency services, water and other utilities. They say that residents would be the ones to bear the burden of that strain on their utility bills.

“Take them to your house, and you pay for them because I’m tired of paying for them,” says a resident who told the board she was pro-ICE, just against the location of the proposal. “I would rather have the meth houses two doors down from me shut down.”

Action News Jax has sought the cost of this project, but has not received confirmation from county officials.

Another primary concern advocates spoke to was the Trichloroethylene found on the location grounds. According to the CDC’s analysis of the Department of Environmental Protection’s findings, exposure to Trichloroethylene has been linked to kidney, liver, and blood cancer.

“Please do your due diligence, because if somebody gets sick, I’m sure their lawyer will do theirs,” Maria Geer, another speaker, said.

University of Florida students and others also raised concerns about the fear that the facility would foster. Both the University of Florida and Santa Fe College have signed 287(g) agreements, which allow campus police to perform the actions of federal ICE officers, including questioning and detaining students.

“If you add up the number of international students who currently study at U.F. in Santa Fe, you will get a population of over 6000 people — a population that rivals that of Starks,” a U.F. student said. “Six thousand people who are living in fear because the sheriff and commissioners of Bradford County are still debating whether they want to create a detention center.”

Another speaker brought up that the facility would cause mass civil unrest, comparable to that of Minneapolis during the ICE raids earlier this year.

Marty Shaw, referred to by County officials as a County Agent, told the commissioners that he had a client who was also interested in the Douglas property. This sparked a conversation about potential business growth in Starke.

The commissioners ended the discussion on the Douglas property by agreeing to keep all of their options open. As of now, no lease has been signed, and the future of the proposed ICE facility remains unclear.