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Proposed ICE facilities could bankrupt rural Pa. towns

February 10, 2026

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Good Afternoon everyone,

It’s Tuesday, Feb. 10, and welcome back to another edition of the Keystone Labor Report.

We’re a little more than one week removed from Groundhog’s Day, and it appears that Punxsutawney Phil may have been wrong about his prediction of six more weeks of brutally cold weather. A thaw appears to be here.

I don’t know about you, but I am excited for the weather to finally warm up a bit after being trapped in my apartment for the past month-and-a-half.

Sean Kitchen,

Political Correspondent, The Keystone

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

Roughly 85,000 Pennsylvanians dropped their health care coverage through Pennie, the commonwealth’s health care marketplace, after ACA tax credits expired at the end of last year, causing monthly premiums to increase by an average of 102%.

According to Pennie data, one in five enrollees dropped their coverage, and most of those customers coming from rural counties.

This shouldn’t surprise many because Democrats in Washington, DC, warned the country about impending ACA increases, while Congressional Republicans refused to extend the tax credits while pushing through President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful” Bill Act.

(AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Two towns in rural Berks and Schuylkill counties are set to lose nearly $1.6 million in tax revenue after DHS officials secretly purchased two warehouses for ICE detention centers that’ll house 1,500 and 7,500 detainees.

Tremont, Schuylkill County, which has a population around 300 residents, doesn’t have the water or sewage infrastructure in place to handle DHS’ planned 7,500 person detention center inside a former Big Lots warehouse.

Democrats, and some local Republicans, have spoken out against DHS’ lack of transparency around the sales of these buildings and the financial impacts they will have.

“While I have been clear in my support for the enforcement of federal immigration law, this decision will do significant damage to these local tax bases, set back decades-long efforts to boost economic development, and place undue burdens on limited existing infrastructure in these communities,” US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

Affordable Pennsylvania released a new ad going after US House Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-York) unwavering support for President Donald Trump’s economic agenda.
With all of the talk of nationalizing the elections, Fetterman came out in support of the SAVE Act, the Republican Party’s massive voter suppression legislation. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, this bill would disenfranchise up to 21 million Americans from voting.
Residents in small towns across Pennsylvania continue to push back against ICE. PennLive reports that 30 residents from Mt. Holly Springs packed a meeting airing concerns over the borough’s 287(g) agreement with ICE, which allows local and state law officers to carry out federal immigration enforcement.

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

Pennsylvania Democrats unanimously endorsed Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis at their winter meeting in Harrisburg this past weekend. You can watch Shapiro accept the party’s endorsement here.

Aside from Shapiro’s endorsement, Democrats and party leaders opened up about potential interference in the midterm elections from Republican President Donald Trump and US House Speaker Mike Johnson, and the steps they’re taking to prepare for any potential issues.