The Dept. of Homeland Security is putting a pause on the purchase of more warehouses it intends to use as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention and processing centers, Associated Press is reporting.
DHS is also reviewing warehouses and would-be detention centers that have already been purchased as part of ICE’s Detention Reengineering Initiative. That would include the former Big Lots Distribution Center in Tremont Township and another warehouse in Upper Bern Township, Berks County.
AP cites an anonymous source for its report.
Those properties were purchased by the federal government on Jan. 29. The Schuylkill County property, which had been vacant, was sold for $119 million. ICE’s proposed detention center in Tremont Township is supposed to hold up to 7,500 detainees.
Coal Region Canary reached out to DHS for a response to the AP report and how it might impact the proposed ICE faclities locally. In an email Wednesday, a DHS spokesperson says, “As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals. As Secretary Mullin said in his confirmation hearing: ‘I will work with the community leaders and make sure that we are delivering for the American people what the President set out… We want to work with community leaders. We want to be good partners.”
Last month, Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin was tapped to lead DHS following the dismissal of former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, whose department policies and execution of them came under intense scrutiny.
On Wednesday, Schuylkill County Commissioners Chairman Larry Padora said the County has reached out to US Rep. Dan Meuser to help arrange a meeting with Mullin on the proposed detention center in Tremont Township.
Reacting to today’s report from AP, Padora says the County’s position remains the same.
“It doesn’t change the County’s stance at all,” he says. “We need to be made whole for our tax revenue.”
The decision to open an ICE detention center in Schuylkill County has drawn resistence as well, with opposition voices raising concerns regarding infrastructure and lack of natural resources in the area that can support such a facility to the political to President Donald Trump and his mass deportation agenda.
Brianna DelValle, organizer of No Skook Detention, which has focused its opposition to the proposed ICE facility by emphasizing the lack of resources and infrastructure, reacted to the AP report.
“We’re glad to hear reports that DHS may scrutinize existing warehouse purchases. But the information is from an anonymous source, and “scrutinize” could mean anything.
“DHS Sect. Mullin has experience in construction and plumbing, so we’re optimistic that he’ll quickly understand how ridiculous the Tremont facility proposal is. There already isn’t enough water for residents, and the sewer capacity does not exist. Our emergency services and hospitals can’t handle the additional burden.
“Even if the detention center never materializes, we still don’t know what will happen to the warehouse. There are still too many unknowns. No matter what, we’ll keep pushing our elected leaders to protect Schuylkill County’s public health, safety, and infrastructure,” DelValle says.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has attempted to block ICE’s plans in Schuylkill County through the state’s Dept. of Environmental Protection. DEP has ordered DHS, Tremont Township, and Schuylkill County Municipal Authority to prohibit occupancy and withhold water and sewer services at the site until Homeland Security secures the necessary environmental permits.
With the federal government purchasing the property, it becomes exempt from property taxes, which is estimated to cost the County, Tremont Township, and Pine Grove Area School District approximately $1 million combined.
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