NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — US Immigration and Customs Enforcement will not move forward with a detention center in Lebanon, Wilson County.
Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto lays out the timeline, beginning with a call from a reporter.
"Maybe this is a thing that we can try to figure out more about," he said.
Hutto, along with other county officials and concerned citizens, began their search for answers. Hutto and Lebanon Mayor Rick Bell met with the senior counsel for the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS confirmed they were looking at a facility in Wilson County, primarily in Lebanon.
Hutto was concerned about the footprint of the facility so close to schools, churches and daycares.
"The safety factor was very much a problem. Then the workforce, the 16,000 people that would be detained there. They would need 4,000+ employees to be able to manage it. I'm the second lowest unemployment county in the state of Tennessee so I don't have the workforce," he said.
Hutto said he was satisfied with the result.
"We saw no advantage to have this in the city. State, local and federal leaders listened. Even the people at DHS. They listened to what we said our community wanted."
