Roger Berger had a simple question for the Florence, Kentucky, City Council at its Feb. 10 meeting. “I want to know if the council has taken a position if ICE or Homeland Security wants to build or acquire a concentration facility within the city limits?”

Berger’s question came as local jurisdictions around the nation are struggling with real estate transactions by businesses and individuals transferring land and large warehouse-like buildings to the Department of Homeland Security. The properties are slated to be used as mass detention facilities.

Some people critical of the trend compare the facilities to concentration camps.

In deeply conservative Mississippi, residents of Byhalia protested against the conversion of a large warehouse into a detention facility for 8,500 immigrants. GOP Sen. Roger Wicker then went on the record opposing the facility.

ICE is evaluating at least 23 warehouse sites throughout the United States to use as mass detention facilities. These include sites in Arizona, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Community opposition in places like Social Circle, Georgia, is pushing back against the plans.

Berger wants Florence to follow those communities’ lead.

Florence, as a city, doesn’t detain people on behalf of federal immigration enforcement agencies.

“We don’t work with ICE right now as far as detaining people or anything like that,” Florence Police Chief Jeff Mallery said during the meeting. “So we haven’t had any discussions of them coming in or having anything like that or building anything in our building anything in the city.” Mayor Julie Metzger Aubuchon added, “We don’t have any detention facilities here.”

But that wasn’t what Berger was asking. He compared the current policies to the internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II. Berger opposes federal immigration detention policies and he doesn’t want a mass detention facility in his hometown.

“I don’t know that we can interfere with a private property sale,” Aubuchon said.

The only leverage the city might have against preventing a mass detention facility might be through its zoning code. But, there’s a catch: Kentucky state law ties the hands of local jurisdictions.

“Governmental entities are exempt from zoning regulations,” explained City Attorney Thomas Nienaber.

Undeterred, Berger pushed back. “I asked the question because of what’s going on in our country,” he said. “Other states and other cities, as I watch the news, have been able to deter, lawfully, see these kinds of facilities being built within their jurisdictions.”

Berger then asked the council to formally support an effort to lobby the General Assembly to pre-empt any future proposals to create local detention facilities.

Aubuchon instead offered to meet with Berger and provide him with a list of state legislators.

“I would suggest perhaps you draft something the way you want it to read, submit it to the administrative offices,” the mayor told Berger, who’s 84 and uses a walker. “It would be better if we had some kind of a form or a document or a letter from you asking whether council would be willing to support that.”

Afterward, Berger said that he didn’t like the council’s response.

“I think the council could have could have gone on record to petition the state government to do what I requested,” Berger said. “They could have done it by their own volition rather than have a citizen, once bringing that to their attention, do all the work.”

Rebuffed Again

Roger Berger returned to the Florence City Council chambers March 3, 2026, to follow up on a request he made at the February business meeting. “I’m going to review the Feb. 10 meeting of the city council when I asked them to pass an ordinance that would prohibit ICE and Homeland Security from buying or leasing any facility within the city which would become an interment or concentration facility,” Berger told me before the March 3 meeting.

After the February meeting, Aubuchon suggested that Berger write to the city with his request regarding potential immigration enforcement facilities (Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE) facilities inside the city limits. Berger subsequently emailed Florence City Administrator Joshua Hunt. Berger’s appearance brought the issue full circle, with no commitment from the city and indifferent responses from individual council members.

“I request the City Council pass a resolution that would advise warehouse owners, landowners and Realtors not to sell or lease such to ICE, Homeland Security or another Federal Agency for the purpose of having an internment/concentration facility to keep US Citizens and non- US Citizens detained without due process,” Berger wrote in a Feb. 17 email to Hunt.

Hunt replied Feb. 20. “Historically, Florence City Council has not entertained resolutions addressing geopolitical, partisan, or federal policy matters that fall outside the scope of municipal authority,” Hunt wrote. “As a local governing body operating under Kentucky law, the City’s responsibility is to administer and legislate matters directly tied to municipal operations, public safety, local services, and land use regulation. Matters involving federal immigration enforcement agencies are governed by federal and state law, and local legislative bodies do not have authority to regulate, direct, or otherwise influence federal enforcement decisions.”

Hunt also informed Berger that his email would be included, along with Hunt’s answer, in the council’s packet for the Feb. 24 business meeting. “Whether to place any matter on a future Council agenda is ultimately a decision for the elected Council members in accordance with their established procedures,” Hunt wrote.

Berger’s communications and Hunt’s reply were not taken up during the Feb. 24 council meeting.

At the March 3 meeting, Berger again slowly made his way to the speaker’s podium. He reviewed his earlier statements and the communications he had with Hunt.

“I am very, very proud of this city,” Berger said. “I’d like to be engaged in things that are going on within the city.”

After quoting polls taken before the Feb. 24 State of the Union address that described President Donald Trump as erratic, Berger returned to his original request: “All I want from you as a council is to give your opinion, so that your voters and the Boone County Fiscal Court can hear you,” he pleaded. Berger then addressed individual council members.

“Mr. Winn, if you could give us your opinion on this,” Berger asked council member Gary Winn.

“Interesting topic. Hot topic. I’ll leave it at that,” Winn replied.

Berger exchanged comments with several council members. He asked them at the end, “Why is it so painful for you all to render an opinion?”

Aubuchon declined to comment on the point Berger made about other cities and counties taking stands against having ICE facilities in their communities.

“This is a national issue. I don’t believe it’s an issue that cities should get involved in,” Aubuchon said after the meeting adjourned. “This is not something that we typically as a city would get involved with. We don’t want to be in divisive, hot button national issues.”

But aren’t all politics local?

“Roads, streets, ambulances and fire. That’s what we are concerned about,” Aubuchon replied.

An observer for the Boone County Republican Party didn’t think much of Berger’s requests, either. This comment appeared in the organization’s blog after the March 3 meeting:

Roger Burger [sic.] urged ordinance against city facilities being used for ICE/Homeland Security “internment/concentration camps”; cited federal concerns, polls. (Time 15:50 to 27:13 on the YouTube video.) Mr. Burger [sic.] compared illegal alien law breaker arrests to internment of American-citizen Japanese during WWII by Democrat POTUS Franklin Roosevelt authorization via Executive Order 9066. (Note: 9066 was overturned in 1983.) 

© 2026 D.S. Rotenstein

Shortlink for this post: https://wp.me/p1bnGQ-4dv