When the federal government announced it was again soliciting bids for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in the area, Apex, Cary and Holly Springs immediately responded that they had nothing appropriate.

Morrisville did not reject the idea at once, but now says a search for compatible sites came up empty.

The General Service Administration is seeking a 10- to 15-year lease on a 20,000 square-foot office site with 65 parking spaces in the Triangle.

The GSA requested site recommendations from Apex, Fuquay-Varina, Cary, Raleigh and Morrisville.

The new bid requirements were posted Sept. 14, and interested parties have until 4 p.m. Friday to submit an application of interest. The anticipated move-in date would be June 2012.

Morrisville Chamber of Commerce Director Carlotta Ungaro said she emailed a list of contacts in town inquiring about potential sites for the ICE facility and received no response, even after sending out a follow-up email.

Town Manager John Whitson said it's unlikely that anything within the town's corporate limits meet the dimensional requirements.

"Our facilities are built much bigger than this," he said. "I don't think they are going to find one in Morrisville to even consider. That's my opinion at the moment."

Whitson said it was more likely the facility would be located in the unincorporated area near the Raleigh Durham International Airport for easy access to deport illegal immigrants.

Council members expressed their concern about GSA's search at their meeting last week.

"I don't want Morrisville to be a dumping ground for everything no one else wants," Martin said. "For them to consider this small, 10-square-mile town is concerning to me."

Councilwoman Margaret Broadwell said, "I personally see red flags all over this. I don't feel this type of service or agency is appropriate for the corporate limits of Morrisville or its citizens."

The GSA began searching for sites in 2009. The government wanted to consolidate ICE's office in Cary and a temporary Raleigh office while adding 27,000 square feet, for a total of about 39,000 square feet.

After the agency tried to locate an office in Cary, residents voiced opposition to its location in a former Kroger building. Much of the original controversy about the proposed site was its proximity to a residential neighborhood and because the GSA did not tell local governments about its plans.

The administration's latest search is bound on the west by N.C. 55 and on the east by U.S. 401 and U.S. 70. Its northern tip is Raleigh-Durham International Airport, and its southern end is the intersection of U.S. 401 and N.C. 55 in Fuquay-Varina. Before, it included only Cary, Morrisville and Raleigh.

The GSA now is searching for 19,841 square feet of office space.

Buildings located within 3,000 linear square feet radius of schools, daycare centers, residential zoning/concentration or hotels, for example, will not be considered.