PORT ALLEN — Residents in West Baton Rouge voiced concerns at a Parish Council meeting on Thursday after rumors spread of a potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility being built in the community.

According to The Advocate, federal officials have been scoping out locations across the nation as part of a $45 billion expansion of immigration detention infrastructure. 

A Washington Post article from December said that Port Allen and Hammond were being scoped as locations for potential detention centers, with ICE intending to hold 80,000 immigrants in warehouse facilities across the country. Reports showed a proposed site in Port Allen in a 250,000 sq. ft. warehouse at 2070 Commercial Drive.

"At this time, the Parish has not received any formal proposal, request, or notification from ICE or any federal agency regarding the development of a detention or processing facility within West Baton Rouge Parish," a news release from the parish said.

When residents at the meeting were asked to stand in opposition to the potential facility, over two-thirds of those in attendance rose, The Advocate reported. All speakers during the public comment period spoke against the proposed site, with residents raising concerns about the local economy and the potential strain on resources.

Residents also asked leadership to be more proactive, as ICE has allegedly been leasing warehouses from private companies and converting them into detention facilities without notifying local governments.

On Saturday, a community rally against the potential ICE warehouse detention center will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Port Allen City Depot on South Alexander Avenue.

Organizers said they want to raise awareness about the lack of transparency over the potential facility, as well as concerns over the parish's infrastructure not being designed to support a detention facility of this size.

Organizers added that they are worried about the removal of tax revenue to support local infrastructure and the cruel nature of ICE detention centers. 

According to the Associated Press, more than 20 towns in the U.S. with large warehouse facilities have been identified as "stealth" targets by ICE as potential detention sites. Many are small towns where local officials were not notified of purchases.