Project Salt Box

Calling on legislators to block ICE’s human warehouses

By ReSisters Leadership Team

Activists in Connecticut are issuing wake up calls to legislators and fellow activists.

THE ISSUE

The federal government is buying warehouses to store human beings. As of February 16, they have purchased eight warehouses (seven on February 11 alone!)—and that number is rising very fast. They plan to imprison thousands upon thousands of people in these buildings.

ReSisters, an activist group focusing on education and action in Lower Fairfield, CT, is turning its attention to this outrage. Connecticut state legislators and those in our local municipalities need to be aware of ICE’s push to buy land and warehouses to store its detainees. ReSisters plans to engage their elected representatives in heading off such purchases. We need them to stay ahead of what is coming down the road, prepared to fight back against federal purchase of any such property in CT. (See our sample letter to legislators below and feel free to use it to contact your legislators.)

MELTING ICE

The frightening details of this federal project were explained on February 9 on The Rachel Maddow Show. Rachel featured Michael Wriston, co-founder of Project Salt Box, which is tracking the purchases of warehouses.

“We have advanced notice, we know it’s coming down the pipeline,” Wriston, an Air Force vet told The Baltimore Banner. “How do we push back and make our voices heard?”

The discovery of ICE’s warehouse plans is just one revelation made by Project Salt Box. Founded in Maryland late last year, the seven-person group is spending hours online digging through largely ignored public records to, as the project’s name suggests, melt ICE. So far, Project Salt Box has: 1) revealed how ICE pre-ordered 42,000 ready-to-eat meals for future detainees in Maryland; 2) created a detailed data map of where ICD is hiring contractors for future operations; and 3) started a Substack about its innovative projects.

THE LETTER

The Maryland state legislature, alerted by Project Salt Box, is already considering a bill (HB 630) which would prohibit the operation of immigration detention facilities in structures not originally designed or constructed for housing or detaining people. This bill could serve as a model for legislative action elsewhere

Below is the sample letter ReSisters in Connecticut are currently sending to elected representatives, both municipal and state. We urge activists everywhere to email a elected officials as one step toward organizing resistance in YOUR state.

Prevention starts with us and extends to elected officials. If a purchase is initiated, let representatives know that the activist community will QUICKLY come together to push back hard against it.

THE GRATITUDE

We are most grateful to anyone and everyone who is taking action to limit this frightening project of the Trump regime. The partnership between our trusted elected leaders and the activist community is exactly what it will take to make sure this abomination does not take hold anywhere we have a say.

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Dear_________:

The federal government is in the process of buying warehouses in which to store human beings. As of February 15, ICE has purchased 10 warehouses and they plan to house 42,000 people in these buildings. More purchases are underway.

We do not want Connecticut to be the home of one of the federal government’s detainee warehouse operations. In addition to the moral outrage most Americans already feel, given the lack of due process afforded the detainees, localities would be adversely affected. Specifically, a locality’s water, electricity, roads and sewage facilities would all be facing heavier utilization. In addition, these detention centers will also result in the loss of tax income because the businesses that were in those warehouses will no longer be generating revenue.

CT legislators need to be aware of this potential issue and take proactive measures. In response to state and local pressure, 8 purchases have been cancelled (OK, UT, MO, VA) Maryland is currently considering a bill (HB 630) which would prohibit the operation of immigration detention facilities in structures not originally designed or constructed for housing or detaining people. This bill could serve as a model for legislative action. (Note that as of today, there are no identified properties for sale in Connecticut. But a property just over the border in Chester, New York has been purchased.) Please consult with your colleagues and act expeditiously on this issue. We need to stand up for our neighbors and make sure that we aren’t supporting ICE’s brutal and lawless treatment of immigrants. I have included some additional resources below about this issue. Thank you for all that you do.

Kind regards,

[Your name and address]

Resources for Legislators and Activists

1. The frightening details of this federal warehousing project were explained fully on The Rachel Maddow Show (Feb 9) when Rachel featured Michael Wriston, co-founder of Project Salt Box which is tracking the purchases of warehouses. (Project Salt Box is introduced at 30:06 minutes in. Michael Wriston is introduced at 30:34.)

2. More about Project Salt Box

• General Info

• Using Data for Good: A Crash Course

• Ice Warehouse Purchase Tracker