ICE Is Using a University Building as a Deportation Office and the University Says It Can't Do Anything About It
The Milwaukee School of Engineering is largely powerless to kick ICE out of a building it wanted to turn into a new academic center, according to audio of a meeting obtained by 404 Media.
https://www.404media.co/ice-is-using-a-university-building-as-a-deportation-office-and-the-university-says-it-cant-do-anything-about-it/Open linkView original on lemmy.dbzer0.com
31 replies
Going after that 3rd amendment now huh?
It sounds like they were leasing the building from the previous owners when the university bought the building. What I don't understand is this part:
"Unilaterally" extending a lease seems like something that shouldn't be possible. But the university says they have no legal recourse, so... 🤷
My guess is the lease agreement gave GSA the option to do so, and the sales contract stipulated that the purchaser had to honor any existing lease agreements.
Also, leases can be broken. They're just contracts.
Well... usually the point of a contract is that it can't just be broken. Not without some sort of penalty for the party breaking it.
Yes, that's what happens when you break a contract, but that doesn't mean the contract just says you have to do something and you have no other options.
Well, if the penalty would bankrupt the university, that's not really a viable option. Also, when you're talking about rental contracts, there actually are very serious legal restrictions on when and how you can force a tenant out.
More like trying to give President more power. They've been trying to declare this as a time of war and enact things through those wartime parts.
They could cut the electricity
Require all campus parking have student or staff stickers in the window or be towed at owner's expense. Reserve just enough parking for those with stickers and start tearing up all the parking lots around the building ICE is squatting in. Also, release an announcement about the construction stating that long term goal is to beautify the property and create of more relaxed environment for students that is conducive to learning.
Note: Let the tow company know that they should only send tow trucks operated by US citizens with their legal documents on their person.
And water.
And toss in some tear gas.
"Oh, didn't you read the schedule? The building is being fumigated for roaches".
But after the detainees are not there
Get the chem and engineering to team up and find a way to mix chlorine and vinegar in a handy tossable package.
And heating. Sucks being on the other end of squatters rights, huh?
https://web.archive.org/web/20251028143700/https://www.404media.co/ice-is-using-a-university-building-as-a-deportation-office-and-the-university-says-it-cant-do-anything-about-it/
Friendly reminder that 404 Media does good journalism, and is worth supporting if you can afford it.
I was saying to myself "404 has done so much important reporting on ICE in just the last week. I wonder how i can help them do that work." Then i remembered that money can be exchanged for goods and services and signed up for a year
I mean, they could pay a fella to shut power down to the whole building. They could have someone trigger the fire suppression system, dousing every ICE computer and paper dossier in cold water. They could arrange a Busker Festival on retainer, directly outside the office's windows. They could, but they won't. Why?
Bill of rights. We do not have to shelter soldiers.
Move them out with security guards ... it is perfectly legal.
Wait wait wait.
Did they just violate the 3rd amendment?
Is that a BINGO or what?
If only...
They are paying rent still.
I didn't expect to need to find myself a staunch defender of the third amendment but here we are
“It’s not a house, so it doesn’t apply.” - Nazis
Paywall so I can't tell if this is addressed. It sounds like they were renting the building from the university? As in they are tenants? As long as they have a lease and are current on the rent I dont know always they could do. Maybe dont rent to fascist organizations on the first place?
The building was sold to the university with ICE as a tenant in 2023. They were originally expected to move out “within a few months” of that sale, and their lease ended in April 2025. However, they had a contractual option to extend the lease through 2028, and they’ve chosen to extend it at least through April 2026 while their new building elsewhere is being built.
So yes, they’re tenants, but the university didn’t choose to rent to them. In fact, the university would like them to be gone for more than the current political reality; the university would very much like to renovate it and use it as academic space.
Doesn't third amendment apply here?
I read that as "We're afraid of shouldering even a single gram of risk here, so we're instead gonna let the brownshirts squat in our building"
I have a feeling there is a lot of things they can do.
What the fuck is that ad about an expired version of a PDF, with a link to "update" it?
No clue. Haven't seen an ad online in a long time.