Officials say plans for immigrant detention center in Concord not moving forward

CONCORD, Calif. (KGO) -- It appears, at this point, a controversial plan to build an immigrant detention center at the former Naval Weapons Station in Concord is not moving forward. The news came just as the city council there was starting an emergency meeting on the issue.

"There will be no relocation camps in Concord or California," announced Guy Bjerke, Concord's Director of Community Reuse Planning, to open the meeting. "Just a few moments ago, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier called the city manager and further informed us he has informal confirmation that there is no intention of establishing detention facilities in Concord or in California."

RELATED: Navy plans to build a migrant detention camp in Concord for 47,000 people

Congressman DeSaulnier also released a statement from Washington, "I am pleased the effort to turn Concord Naval Weapons Station into a detention facility has been halted. It is important not to let our guard down as one tweet can change things."

The emergency meeting continued with dozens of speakers coming to the podium. "We need to keep this out of the hands of Donald Trump and the federal government," said Lamar Anderson.

"Thank you so much for your great news today, but I feel like we still need to bring our concerns to the table," said another Concord resident.

Besides the DeSaulnier announcement, there is a separate memo sent from Sheriff David Livingston to local leaders, relaying information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Contra Costa County Supervisor Karen Mitchoff paraphrased what was in the memo. "It didn't look like this would happen, not only here but anywhere in the state of California," said Mitchoff. "And that's good news, but one of the things me and my colleagues were talking about is we don't want these detention facilities anywhere."

Read Mark DeSaulnier's full statement below:

"I am pleased the effort to turn Concord Naval Weapons Station into a detention facility has been halted. As we advised the Administration, the Concord Naval Weapons Station is an unsafe and inhabitable environment, and to propose housing almost 50,000 people there was both dangerous and immoral. We fought this proposal along with our local officials and dedicated community and will continue to fight against the inhumane and unjust policies proposed by this Administration. It is important not to let our guard down as one tweet can change things."

For more on the ongoing border crisis, visit this page.