Billionaire Trump supporter blocks sale of Texas warehouse for use as ICE jail

As rumors swirled that ICE was eyeing warehouse properties with the aim of creating new detention facilities—an expansion of the now-defunct “Alligator Alcatraz” or the camps that separated immigrant families during President Donald Trump’s first term—billionaire Edward Roski Jr. stood firm. 

Yes, the Department of Homeland Security had approached his company, Majestic Realty, to sell a 1-million-square-foot facility that could hold up to 9,500 beds, Roski confirmed. But no, this deal was not going to happen—and nor will any deal like it at his company. 

“Majestic Realty Co. has not and will not enter into any agreement for the purchase or lease of any building to the Department of Homeland Security for use as a detention facility,” the company said, adding that they “look forward to continuing our work to find a buyer or lease tenant that will help drive economic growth.”

The Los Angeles–based real estate company is owned by Roski, who is estimated to be worth $7 billion and is co-owner of the Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Crypto.com Arena. He is also a longtime Republican who donated a total of $200,000 to President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to federal funding records cited by Business Insider. 

The warehouse was one of more than two dozen locations identified by DHS as potential detention center sites, according to several news outlets. The company did not give a specific reason for its decision not to sell, or why it had been identified by DHS. Majestic Realty declined to comment beyond the statement. 

Last year, $45 billion was allocated to build new detention facilities in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The administration plans to build more than two dozen “mega centers,” or converted warehouses, to detain immigrants, Bloomberg reported in December. 

DHS has been ramping up its purchase of new detention facility sites in recent months. In January, the administration bought a site in Williamsport, Md., for $102.4 million and another in Surprise, Ariz., for $70 million, according to Bloomberg. 

Roski is not the first billionaire whose company has decided not to sell to DHS. Canadian billionaire Jimmy Pattison’s development company backed out of a sale of a 550,000-square-foot Virginia warehouse, Bloomberg reported. The sale was stopped following protests and a threat of a widespread boycott against all of Pattison’s companies.

Several local news outlets reported many people in Hutchins, Texas, a town of 6,000, opposed the potential ICE facility, including Mayor Mario Vasquez, who said that the town’s warehouses “are for storage, not for holding people.”

“I want to first commend the owner of the building, Majestic Realty, for their decision, and we look forward to working with Majestic Realty to find a tenant that is a good fit for the City of Hutchins,” Vasquez said in a statement after the announcements. “Your concerns did not go unnoticed.”