Rumors about an ICE detention center in a Texas town have elicited a definite response from a billionaire Trump supporter. These centers have been compared to concentration camps.
As rumors circulated that ICE was targeting warehouse properties to set up new detention facilities—either an expansion of the defunct ones or the camps that separated immigrant families during President Donald Trump’s first term—billionaire Edward Roski Jr. stood firm.
Roski confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security had approached his company, Majestic Realty, to buy a 1-million-square-foot facility that could accommodate up to 9,500 beds. But this deal would not happen—and neither would any such deal at his company.
The company stated, “Majestic Realty Co. will not and does not enter into any agreement to purchase or lease any building to the Department of Homeland Security for use as a detention facility.” It also added that they “look forward to continuing our work to find a buyer or lease tenant that will help drive economic growth.”
The Los Angeles-based real estate company is owned by Roski, who is estimated to be wealthy and is a co-owner of the Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Crypto.com Arena. According to cited federal funding records, he is a long-time Republican who donated a total of $200,000 to President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Several news outlets reported that the warehouse was one of over two dozen locations identified by DHS as potential detention center sites. The company did not give a specific reason for its decision not to sell or why it was identified by DHS. Majestic Realty declined to comment beyond the statement.
Last year, $45 billion was allocated in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to build new detention facilities. The administration planned to build more than two dozen “mega centers,” or converted warehouses, to detain immigrants, as reported in December.
In recent months, DHS has been increasing its purchase of new detention facility sites. According to reports, in January, the administration bought a site in Williamsport, Md., for $102.4 million and another in Surprise, Ariz., for $70 million.
Roski is not the first billionaire whose company has decided not to sell to DHS. Canadian billionaire Jimmy Pattison’s development company backed out of selling a 550,000-square-foot Virginia warehouse. The sale was stopped following protests and a threat of a widespread boycott against all of Pattison’s companies.
Several local news outlets reported that many people in Hutchins, a Texas town with 6,000 residents, opposed the potential ICE facility, including Mayor Mario Vasquez, who stated that the town’s warehouses “are for storage, not for holding people.”
“I want to first commend the owner of the building, Majestic Realty, for their decision, and we look forward to working with Majestic Realty to find a tenant that is a good fit for the City of Hutchins,” Vasquez said in a statement after the announcements. “Your concerns did not go unnoticed.”