The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has informed the Shapiro Administration that they will not create immigration detention centers at warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill counties.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security withdrew its appeal of the Shapiro Administration’s administrative orders that forbid federal officials from connecting local water or sewer infrastructure need to convert the warehouses to detention centers.
State officials said the withdrawal followstwo written letters from DHS to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection earlier this month.
“ICE has considered the final use it will make of this Property, and it hereby informs DEP that it will not be using this Property as a detention center,” DHS officials said in their letter. “Instead, consonant with the levels of water service approved for the property and utilized by the prior owner for this warehouse, ICE’s plan is that it will maintain the use of the property on existing sewage planning, sewage flows, and drinking water use levels.”
DHS officials’ letters did not detail what ICE plans to do with the warehouses in the future.
State officials said July 22 that as a result of the appeal withdrawal, the administrative orders “will be final and remain in effect.” DEP officials will continue to closely monitor these facilities “to ensure DHS follows through on its stated intention.”
“From the beginning, I’ve been clear that these warehouses should not be used as ICE detention centers because they are not suitable for people and converting them to detention centers would have posed serious risks to the health, safety, and infrastructure of the surrounding communities,” Governor Shapiro said in a release July 22. “My Administration stood with local leaders and residents, enforced Pennsylvania law, and worked across agencies to protect people from being held in these warehouses and to protect the surrounding communities.”
Congressman Dan Meuser confirmed that federal officials were canceling plans for proposed warehouses in a statement June 26. In his statement, Meuser said the Trump Administration’s plans “evolved based on operational needs.”
In Berks County, federal officials bought a 518,000‑square‑foot building on Mountain Road in Upper Bern Township for $87 million, and it would have had the capacity to detain 1,500 people. Another warehouse on Rausch Creek Road in Tremont Township was purchased for $120 million and would have had the capacity to detain 7,500 people.
DEP officials issued five administrative orders to DHS on March 5, two to the Department of Homeland Security, one to Schuylkill County Municipal Authority, one to Tremont Township, and one to Upper Bern Township. Officials said the orders direct that water and sewage cannot be supplied to the warehouses, and that the buildings cannot be occupied, until DHS demonstrates compliance with federal and state environmental regulations.
In a press conference Feb. 26, Gov. Josh Shapiro said these two facilities would have negative impacts on these communities. County leaders had concerns about who would be running the warehouse, and that infrastructure such as water is needed to house the large population in these facilities.
“I want to be very clear: I don’t want either of these sites here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” the governor said during that press conference.
Both residents and government officials have criticized the lack of transparency and engagement from ICE and DHS since the purchase of the buildings.
Lebanon Daily News reporters visited the 3501 Mountain Road site multiple times, where many residents expressed concerns about having an ICE facility in their own backyard and what that might mean for local businesses.
According to a report from the New York Times, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials plan to sell or give away most of the 11 warehouses bought to detain immigrants. Among those listed is the warehouse in Upper Bern Twp., which is about 15 minutes from the Lebanon County border.
Officials have not confirmed who the future owners of the warehouses could be, or when the transition or sale would occur.
