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.

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.

  • IamSparticles@lemmy.zipEnglish
    28·
    7 days ago

    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:

    Its lease was set to expire in April, but ICE, through the General Services Administration (GSA) which handles real estate for the federal government, unilaterally extended the lease through April of next year and has the option to remain in the building through 2028, the university says.

    “Unilaterally” extending a lease seems like something that shouldn’t be possible. But the university says they have no legal recourse, so… 🤷

    • Hazor@lemmy.world
      18·
      6 days ago

      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.

      • IamSparticles@lemmy.zipEnglish
        2·
        6 days ago

        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.

        • Zaktor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          3·
          6 days ago

          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.

          • IamSparticles@lemmy.zipEnglish
            1·
            4 days ago

            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.