New Report: Rumored Tremont ICE Facility Could Be One of Nation’s Biggest

The rumored ICE processing facility that no one can confirm is actually coming to Schuylkill County could house up to 7,500 detainees, according to a new report.

Bloomberg is reporting that the rumored facility in the former Big Lots Distribution Center in Tremont Township would be one of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s largest in the country.

ICE has been reportedly eyeing warehouse facilities across the country with the plan of using them as detention centers and processing facilities for detainees.

A report from the Washington Post back in December, which cited a draft proposal for these facilities, indicated such a place in Tremont would house up to 1,500 people.

Now, Bloomberg is showing that the Tremont facility could house up to 7,500 people. A facility in Hamburg, Berks County, would house up to 1,500, according to the same report.

Only four in the nation would be bigger, if the Bloomberg report is accurate and Tremont is, indeed, a proposed location. Tremont would be one of three facilities nationwide that could hold up to 7,500 people.

The US government began purchasing these facilities in the last few weeks, starting with a facility in Hagerstown, Maryland, on Jan. 16, and a location in Surprise, Arizona, the next week. A third in El Paso, Texas, has also allegedly been purchased, Bloomberg reports.

The issue locally and one that’s apparently not exclusive to Schuylkill County, according to Bloomberg, is that little is actually confirmed on the US government’s plan for these facilities.

On Jan. 20, a Republican Herald report “confirmed” the US government was purchasing the 173-acre property in Tremont Township and putting an ICE processing center at the former Big Lots warehouse. That outlet also reported that settlement was likely going to be on Dec. 26, nearly a month before the report was published.

However, Coal Region Canary reporting and research found that no sale has yet to be finalized on the Big Lots location in Schuylkill County.

But that hasn’t stopped a number of local residents from expressing their concerns – and at times, outrage – over the rumors about the proposed facility.

Blowback to and skepticism of the government’s alleged plans have ranged from ideological differences to the Trump administration’s immigration policies to concerns about local infrastructure and tax loss.

On Thursday, Rachel Wallace, a Democrat challenger to US Rep. Dan Meuser in the 2026 Election, hosted a town hall at Newtown Fire Co. More than 100 people attended and a majority of them – mostly supporters of Wallace – expressed their opposition to the rumored plans, many explaining their ideological differences.

The day prior, Schuylkill County Commissioners expressed concerns and doubts about the plans, considering the lack of basic infrastructure at the Big Lots warehouse. That property has on-site sewer and water, meaning they’re not connected to a public system.

If the property is purchased by the US government and becomes exempt from property taxes, it would represent close to a $1 million loss to the County, Tremont Township, and Pine Grove Area School District combined.

The property was assessed at $59.6 million this year and was last sold in 2020 for $129.5 million by a company called BIGTRPA001 LLC from Closeout Distribution LLC.

^{TOP PHOTO: Schuylkill County Map Viewer}

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