The presumptive next head of the Dept. of Homeland Security said this week he’ll work with communities affected by ICE’s plans to open warehouse detention centers there if he’s confirmed.
Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin was tapped by President Donald Trump to replace former DHS Sect. Kristi Noem, after she was removed from that position earlier this month. On Wednesday, Mullin faced a confirmation hearing before the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. His nomination advanced out of that committee by an 8-7 vote on Thursday. The vote was nearly along party lines with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul voting against him and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman approving of his nomination. A vote before the full Senate is next.
During his hearing on Wednesday, Mullin was asked by several Democrat Senators about ICE’s Detention Reengineering Initiative in which it purchased numerous warehouse properties across the country – including the former Big Lots Distribution Center in Tremont Township – to house the agency’s detainees. The Schuylkill County facility is proposed to house up to 7,500 detainees, making it one of the largest in the country. Another in Upper Bern Township, Berks County, could hold up to 1,500 people.
Until recently, elected officials in Schuylkill County have only had limited access to ICE representatives. All information about ICE’s plans for the Tremont detention center has come through third parties and only after the facility was purchased in late-January for $119 million has Schuylkill County gotten any indication of what the federal agency was planning. Still, it’s unclear how ICE plans to get fresh water to the facility and dispose of sewage, with local infrastructure already overwhelmed or at the brink.
In a letter to the state’s Dept. of Environmental Protection this week, ICE says it needs more time to craft a written plan on fresh water and sewage at the Tremont facility. DEP has imposed orders on ICE, Tremont Township, and Schuylkill County Municipal Authority that essentially put on hold any of the federal agency’s ideas of moving forward with the detention facility.
Mullin Promises Community Interaction on ICE Detention Plans
At Mullin’s confirmation hearing Wednesday, Democrat New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan questioned Mullin on the future of the warehouse strategy. In her home state, ICE abandoned a plan to open a warehouse detention center in Merrimack.
Mullin said he couldn’t speak about the strategy since he wasn’t briefed on it in his role as Senator. As he did several times during the confirmation process, Mullin said he’d communicate with local officials on ICE’s plans.
“I don’t know the strategic purpose of it,” Mullin said. “I will work with the community leaders and make sure that we’re delivering for the American people what the President set out.”
Hassan pressed further and attempted to hold Mullin to a promise that ICE, under his direction should his nomination be approved, wouldn’t open any more detention centers without local support.
“I will work with the local community … I won’t be able to speak to that until I understand the risk and the reason behind delivering the mission that’s set in front of us. We’ve got to protect the homeland and we’re going to do that,” Mullin said. “Obviously, we want to work with community leaders. We want to be good partners.
In Roxbury, New Jersey, ICE is planning a warehouse detention center for 1,500 detainees. Sen. Andy Kim said that municipality “only” has 42 police officers (Tremont has 0) and a volunteer fire department. Kim said that ICE never reached out to local officials before moving forward with its detention center plans there.
Mullin responded to Kim’s questions and acknowledged the local impact of ICE’s plans and how he’d address them.
“It’s a big impact and the community should be visited, especially when you take a warehouse off, that takes it off the tax roll, which has a huge impact and then you have to deal with impact aid if they’re eligible for it,” Mullin said.
Calling on his background as the owner of an Oklahoma plumbing business, Mullin also said, “And one thing you need to talk about is infrastructure. When you start talking about infrastructure on these places … a warehouse sprinkler system is much smaller than when you are housing individuals there.”
And although the Schuylkill County facility was not specifically mentioned – Fetterman deferred questions to his colleagues – the challenges of operating the facility in Tremont expressed at the local and state level were addressed.
Mullin said, “Most municipalities don’t have the capacity in their infrastructure for waste and water, so it’s important that we’re talking to the communities and if we’re having additional needs, we can work with the municipalities but we should always communicate with them.
The nominee promised Lee that if it was necessary, he visit Roxbury personally to address the community’s concerns.
“If it’s not practical … but I also said there may be a specific reason why it’s there … if I can’t explain that to you, then that’s a different story. But if there is a specific reason that I talk to you to make it make sense. If not, let’s talk about it. Then maybe we can be better partners moving forward.
“We want to protect the homeland but we also want to bring back peace of mind and confidence to the Dept. of Homeland Security. All this means we’ve got to work on that and I will work on that,” Mullin said.
ICE’s Role Going Forward
Mullin said it was his goal to have ICE not be “the lead story every day” in response to questions on the shootings of two American citizens who were killed protesting agents carrying out arrest missions.
The Oklahoma Senator said he wants to return ICE to its role as a “transport more than a front line.” To do that, he said, Mullin said he wants to continue partnering with local law enforcement agents that detain suspected criminal illegal immigrants and hold them in local jails until ICE officials come to pick them up.
In a recent conversation with Schuylkill County Sheriff Shawn Butler, Coal Region Canary learned that ICE has operated in that way for years. If an arrestee has an ICE detainer on their record, they’re held locally and federal agents have 48 hours to pick them up from Schuylkill County Prison.
Recently, the Sheriff’s Office and local police departments in Frackville, Mahanoy City, Mahanoy Township, Orwigsburg, and Shenandoah, have signed agreements to participate in ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows local police officers to partner with ICE on limited immigration law enforcement.
“If we can get back into just simply working with law enforcement, we’re going to them and we’re picking up these criminals from their jail. We’re going to reimburse them for having the person there and partnership is vitally important,” Mullin said.
FULL COVERAGE
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Jack
March 20, 2026 at 10:58 am
Lying under oath at confirmation hears is not uncommon in trump’s government.