Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker said Wednesday in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that he opposed her department's plan to establish an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in his home state. 

The department is currently in the final stages of purchasing a warehouse in Byhalia, Mississippi, that would be converted into the ICE detention center, which comes as the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration.

Wicker said that although he supports the administration's immigration operations, turning the warehouse into a ICE center would strain the local infrastructure near the warehouse and harm the local economy.

“The site is currently positioned for economic development purposes," Wicker wrote in the letter. "It represents an opportunity for job creation, private investment, and long-term growth in Marshall County ... Converting this industrial asset into an ICE detention center forecloses economic growth opportunities and replaces them with a use that does not generate comparable economic returns or community benefits."

Wicker also raised concern about the ability to sustain the detention center and the strain it would have on the local community because it would house up to 8,500 illegal migrants. 

"Existing medical and human services infrastructure in Byhalia is insufficient to support such a large detainee population," the senator wrote. "Establishing a detention center at this site would place significant strain on local resources."

The department has not yet publicly commented on the letter.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.