The Dept. of Homeland Security has told Schuylkill County officials that the ICE detention center it’s placing in Tremont Township could be operational this Spring.
Schuylkill County Commissioners Chairman Larry Padora tells Coal Region Canary that information was disclosed during a Microsoft Teams conference call Schuylkill and Berks county officials had with DHS on Monday. However, an exact timeline for opening the facility was not provided.
During Wednesday’s Schuylkill County Commissioners meeting, Padora provided an update on the County’s search for more information about the planned ICE detention center in the former Big Lots Distribution Center. The US government purchased that property about a month ago and up until this point, few details have been made public about how it will be used.
On Monday, Schuylkill County Commissioners had their first direct interaction with DHS regarding the facility. Prior to this, all communication about it has come indirectly through US Rep. Dan Meuser’s office and the news media.
In the meeting on Monday were commissioners from Schuylkill and Berks counties, a Schuylkill County solicitor, Tremont Township supervisors and their solicitor, superintendents from Pine Grove Area and Hamburg Area school districts, state representatives from Schuylkill County, State Sen. Dave Argall, Meuser, and a representative of Sen. Dave McCormick.
“They have our letters. They have our concerns and they’re getting us more information,” Padora said, recapping the meeting. “They promised to bring us more answers. We’re pushing for all the details on the infrastructure.”
The Commissioner said the County will now have direct contact with DHS regarding the Tremont Township facility but will still share any local concerns with the US Senators and Meuser.
He added that he expressed to DHS officials, “This would have been a lot easier if this process would have started before they purchased this.”
Padora said during the meeting, County officials expressed the concerns that were spelled out in a letter he signed and delivered to DHS and other federal officials regarding public utilities, public safety, and the impact of lost tax revenue. The County said it’s also concerned about the roads that will be used by ICE to access the facility.
In addition to the letter that Padora signed last week, Schuylkill County Municipal Authority also authored a report that was sent to DHS from County government highlighting the already-strained local resources and infrastructure – namely water and sewer – in the area surrounding the Tremont Township property. (SEE: SCMA Hauling Water to Tremont to Meet Demand: Authority Outlines Infrastructure Constraints in Report for ICE)
Around the same time, DHS published a memo saying that its engineers said that local water and sewer wasn’t a concern at any of the facilities it has purchased for its deportation initiative. (SEE: ICE Memo Offers More Details on Plans for Tremont Township, Other Detention Facilities; Infrastructure Concerns Addressed)
“They have a plan in place to deal with water and sewer,” Padora said, citing what a DHS official said during their meeting on Monday.
Padora also said the County would like to have regular inspections of the facility to ensure detainees were being treated humanely while they’re being held at the Tremont Township detention center.
According to plans that have been made public, the facility in Schuylkill County will be one of the largest in the country and is part of a new DHS initiative to handle detainment and deportation of illegal immigrants in facilities it owns versus ones that it had previously contracted.
Commissioners say they expect to have another meeting with DHS in about two weeks.
FULL COVERAGE
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