Durant City Council, in a meeting attended last week by ICE protesters, passed an ordinance that requires a conditional use permit for anyone wanting to operate a detention center in the city.
There have been rumors about ICE wanting to open a detention center in the former Big Lots warehouse and theserumorshavepreviously been addressed by the city with Mayor Martin Tucker saying no one from the government has contacted them.
The Choctaw Tribal Council previously approved a joint resolution opposing the placement and operation of a proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Facility in Durant. The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Tribes also voted unanimously on a resolution opposing an ICE detention facility in Oklahoma.
Prior to the vote, city attorney Doug Elliott said the ordinance was because of the previous press about the ICE facility.
“Everyone saw, there wasn’t much teeth to what they were doing but as rumors haveit,theyaremaking inroads to try to put an ICE facility in the Big Lots out there by the casino,” Elliott said. “I was informed last Thursday (Jan. 8) I believe that there was a definite movementandcongressional membershadbeencontacted, so therefore, we thought we should put an ordinance in. The tribe has already put a resolution in that they’re against it.”
According to Elliott, council members cannot be for or against any business, but a proposed detention center would have to follow the rules just like everyone else.
“Our ordinances didn’t have anything in them concerning jails,” Elliott said, adding that the wording in theordinancewastakenfrom the City of Houston.
Council member Danny Sherrer made a motion to pass the ordinance and people in the council chambers chanted, “No … Absolutely not.”
Tucker banged his gavel and said, “We will not be interrupted doing our work … we are trying to do the work of the city.”
Jane Hicks stood up and started to speak, and Tucker said, “Jane, you are out of order, and I would appreciate it if you would sit down, thank you very much.”
Tucker said the council was trying to do the work of the city and that protesters were interrupting them.
“It’s your right to protest, not in here,” Tucker said. “It’s your right to speak your mind, not in here. You want to speak to the city council, speak to them all month long, not during this meeting. In this meeting is where we do the city’s business if you will allow us. If you won’t allow us, we will create a situation where we can do the city’s business because that’s what you elected us to do. If you disagree with the city’s business, it’s probably becauseyoudon’tunderstand it but if you do understand it, and you disagree with it then you will get an opportunity.”
People continued to yell and Tucker said this was not a public hearing.
“We are the public,” a person said.
Tucker said that if they were going to continue to interrupt him, he would have them escorted from the room.
Council member Humphrey Miller asked to have Elliott elaborate more on the ordinance. Elliott said numerous people had been in his office that day upset with the ordinance. He started to explain as people yelled.
“No one has contacted us,” Elliott said. “We don’t know who the entity is that wants to open this.”
More people yelled and Elliott asked them to tone it down so that he could try to explain it.
“This ordinance that is put in place is the same as most big cities that have dealt with this,” Elliott said. “If you look at the City of Leavenworth, the City of Dallas, everyone else has dealt (with this) the same way.”
A person said, “We’re not that big,” and Elliott replied, “We are getting pretty big for a detention center to be here. Folks, this is to make whateverentitythatcomesin here play by the rules … If the ordinance is voted down, they can come in. Does anybody understand that? If you don’t have the ordinance, then there is not a prohibition.”
According to Elliott, the ordinance will require someone wanting to open a detention center to go through the planning and zoning commission. There would be a public hearing where the council can hear the concerns of the public and the property owners in the area of the proposed facility.
“This is not voting to say, ‘Come on in, we want an ICE center,’” Elliott said. “Some people in the room tend to think that. That’s not the case.”
A citizen asked if the ordinance wouldgivethepowerto say no and Elliott said, “That is correct.”
When asked to give a comment, Elliott said he did not have a comment because he does not have a proposal.
Elliott gave the example of if Tyson Foods wanted to put a processing plant that, “Someofyouwouldbeagainst it, correct?
What is your opinion, sir,” a citizen asked.
“There is no opinion until you hear a proposal,” Elliott replied. “Just like it would be the processing plant or any or any other business.”
A woman asked if Elliott was comparing human lives with an animal processing plant and Elliott said, That’s a stretch, ma’am.”
More citizens spoke up and one person said it was not a reasonable comparison between the two.
“The comparison is some people are gonna want it and some people are not gonna want it,” Elliott said.
When a woman said nobody wants it, Elliott replied, “That is not true, ma’am, that is not true. If you look on any Facebook post, you will see people that want the detention center here.”
A man then said, “That is stupid,” and Elliott replied that was a matter of opinion.
It was also asked if the city would consider a resolution denouncing it similar to what the Choctaw Nation did, a question that was addressed by Tucker.
“I don’t think you guys understand yet that what we are trying to do is put in place for a way for Durant to have a say on whether there is a facility of this type in our city,” Tucker said. “Right now, we do not have a say. We want to. We’re trying to. We’re doing our dead level best. I hope you can hear us. I hope you can hear our attorney.
“We don’t know what it is becausetherehasn’tbeenany conversation with any official with the City of Durant about anything that you’re excited about. Call it what you want. Right now, it’s someone’s private property and right now, the City of Durant has nothing in its code of ordinances that says you can’t do this in the City of Durant. We want to create the process to have a say in that. Does that make sense to you? I hope it does because we’re working really hard to make that happen if you will let us.”
Tucker told the citizens they did not understand, and he knew there was a lot to understand.
“There’s a lot going on that you don’t know,” Tucker said. “I understand all of that as well. “We don’t want to do anything that is negative for our city. We’re up here working really hard right now to make that happen. You don’t understand, that’s fine. It’s okay, but please, let us do our work to make Durant a better city and that’s what we are trying to do, believe it or not, but that’s where we are and that’s what we are.”
A citizen asked Tucker what he thought made Durant a better city and Tucker said there would be a public hearing and that this was a business meeting, not a conversation.
“We have a motion on the floor right now,” Tucker said. “We are attempting to pass a resolution that will help our city have a say in whether a facility like this comes into our city or not. That’s all were trying to do.”
Citizens then applauded. Tucker also said that if someonewantstohaveapublic hearing, they can have one and if council members are invited, they will probably attend to hear everything people have to say.
“This is a council meeting,” Tucker said. “We’re trying to do business. We’re working on it very hard. We have your best interests at heart. I think if you ask any of these council members personally, individually, do they want this facility in this city, they’re gonna say no, okay?
“If I sound upset, I’m sorry. If I sound impatient, I’m sorry. I love the engagement from citizens, I really do. This is great engagement, it needs to be positive, it needs to be productive, it needs to be supportive of what your city’s doing. I’m trying to get you to let us do our work to help you.”
Another citizen yelled and Tuckertoldhimthatifhecontinued to interrupt, he would be escorted from the room. Police approached him and he did not yell anything else.
Council members then passed the ordinance unanimously.
They also passed an emergency clause, meaning it goes into effect immediately which Elliott explained when a woman asked what the emergency clause meant.
“What does that mean for us as residents of this area,” the woman asked.
“Meaning that the ordinance is now in effect, ma’am as soon as soon as it is posted in the ordinance book,” Elliott said.
The woman then asked if, “We were in a state of emergency now.”
Elliott replied, “State of emergency? No, we are not in a state of emergency. It’s not going to be martial law tomorrow.”
Fisher Standridge was among those attending the meeting and he spoke when it was over.
“I have had a lot of friends that were very excited to see this come up on the docket for the city council,” Standridge said. “I’ve been a couple times myself, but especially with the recent news. Whenever there is a mention of especially an ICE facility coming down to our town, it’s something that a lot of people probably should take a look at and for me, I am very concerned about the idea of a detention center, whether it be for people who are here illegally or whatever else setting up shop when we have a lot of other needs that we need to be met here.
“One-fifth of all the people who live in Durant are in poverty. There’s a rising homelessness crisis that is happeningherewithinatown ofjust21,000people.Wehave a lot more needs that need to be met other than putting people in cages in my opinion. That’s what kind of brought me here.”
Asked what his reaction was to the council vote, Standridge said, “It was expected because it gives them the legal means to actually, you know, if they want to fight back or push back, is a better word, to a potential center out there. However, I think me and most of the people in the room were more so expectingtransparencyanda lot of people just didn’t know what the vote actually meant and so taking out some more time to explain that would have been better, but overall, I kind of expected that result of the vote.”
Nondoc.com, in a story by Derrick James, reported that tribal officials became aware of discussions by the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office to partner with an investor to bring an ICE detention facility to the former Big Lots distribution center.
Sheriff Joey Tucker, when contacted by text message and asked if the federal government had talked to him about a detention center, said, “I house federal inmates for the U.S. Marshals. I am currently working on getting my daily rate to a higher level with them.”