Federal officials say they're willing to hand over details about a proposed immigration detention facility to towns in Wake County provided that local officials keep them a secret. But the request from the General Services Administration could be subject to North Carolina's public records law. Lana Hygh is Cary's liaison to the GSA. She says town officials are trying to determine whether the confidentiality request is allowed under state law.
Lana Hygh: "We have asked for clarification if there's something in the federal law that we're not aware of that could trump that, if you will. But we have not received any information from GSA in response to that request yet."
A GSA letter cites federal law requiring secretive planning in order to provide fair competition for contractors. Similar requests have been sent to the towns of Fuquay-Varina and Morrisville. Federal officials canceled their proposal for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office this summer. They first considered opening the facility at a vacant grocery store near a residential area in Cary.