Federal law enforcement looking to lease office space in Des Moines

The U.S. General Services Administration is looking to lease office space in Des Moines and several other cities across the country for “law enforcement operations,” which immigration advocates in Iowa fear could mean an additional processing facility and detention center for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The GSA, which handles buildings and workspaces for federal agencies, posted a contract opportunity last week for potential rental spaces in 19 cities across the country, including Des Moines. The application period for the contract was short, lasting Sept. 12-17, and it asked for fully furnished spaces with an estimated workstation count of 70 and at least one conference room and one storage room.

The GSA did not respond Friday to questions from The Gazette about the status of the contract opportunity in Des Moines and which federal agencies the office space would be used for.

The contract proposal request does not directly reference ICE — only stating the spaces would be used “in support of law enforcement operations” — but an NPR report citing three anonymous GSA employees states the solicitation is part of a recent “ICE surge,” in which the agency is attempting to quickly procure private offices around the country for ICE officers.

Neither U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nor the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded as of early Friday evening to The Gazette’s questions about the scope and purpose of the proposed facility.

Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office also did not reply to requests for comment on whether state officials were consulted, whether they support or oppose the project, or what role — if any — state agencies may play in supporting or overseeing the site.

In August, Reynolds announced that 20 members of the Iowa National Guard will provide ICE officials in the state with administrative and logistical support after receiving a request from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The federal mission was scheduled to start Sept. 8 and continue through Nov. 15.

NPR’s anonymous sources also told the news source that ICE has asked the GSA to find property that is already owned or leased by the federal government which could be used for ICE operations.

This comes as the GSA has been actively working to reduce the amount of federally owned property through an accelerated disposition program, meant to save taxpayer dollars. The first federal building sold through the program was a historic U.S. Courthouse in Des Moines, at 123 E. Walnut Street. The sale, for $2.6 million, was completed earlier this month, according to a press release from GSA.

Another federal building, in Iowa City, was reportedly being considered for sale. The building, which houses a veterans affairs clinic, a military recruitment office, and a water science center for the U.S. Geological Survey, was on a list of buildings that are not core for federal operations. The list was removed from the website within one day. The Iowa City building still is owned by the federal government.

Escucha Mi Voz, an Iowa City nonprofit that advocates for immigrants, issued a press release Friday expressing outrage about the potential new ICE facility, pointing to news reports from around the country of immigrants being detained and held for multiple days in poor conditions in similarly sized facilities.

“We say no to ICE black sites in Iowa. What they call a ‘processing facility’ is really a secret jail to disappear workers and separate families. Iowa needs housing, health care, and schools, not cages and deportations. We call on all Iowans to stand up and resist,” Escucha Mi Voz member Maria Ayala, of Ainsworth, said in the release.

The Gazette reached out to the Iowa Department of Public Safety with questions about the proposed facility, including whether it had been consulted by federal officials or would coordinate with ICE on enforcement tied to the proposed facility. The department declined to comment.

The other 18 cities in the contract proposal request are Birmingham, AL; Boise, ID; Charleston, SC; Columbia, SC; Columbus, OH; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Fort Myers, FL; Grand Rapids, MI; Jacksonville, FL; Louisville, KY; Milwaukee, WI; Oklahoma City, OK; Pittsburgh, PA; Raleigh, NC; Richmond, VA; Spokane, WA; St. Louis, MO; and Tampa, FL.

Tom Barton of The Gazette contributed to this report.

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