Marsha Blackburn: Lebanon ICE Detention Center ‘Will Not Move Forward’

According to Tennessee’s senior U.S. senator, a proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Lebanon is officially dead.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn made the following announcement on X Tuesday evening:

“DHS has confirmed the agency will not move forward with a proposed ICE facility in Wilson County.

“I appreciate [U.S. Sec. of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s] commitment to finding the best possible location for a new detention center to continue ICE's great work to apprehend, detain, and deport illegal aliens.”

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Wilson County Leaders Oppose ICE Facility, DHS Backtracks [Updated]

Hundreds of citizens protest increased ICE presence at heated county commission meeting

The issue came to a head during a heated Feb. 17 Wilson County Commission meeting, which drew concerns and outrage from hundreds of residents and local activists. 

Numerous elected officials in Wilson County, including County Mayor Randall Hutto and Sheriff Robert Bryan, also voiced their opposition to the proposed “mega center,” which was first reported earlier this month by the Tennessee Lookout. Local leaders and community members were reportedly given no notification of or input regarding the detention center.

DHS is actively purchasing space — much of which already includes warehouses — across the nation. But communities in New Hampshire, Virginia, Missouri and now Tennessee are pushing back.