Roxbury ICE warehouse plan draws sharp rebuke from Sherrill, who vows state action
Governor cites transparency failures, environmental risks, and detainee treatment as opposition to 1,500-bed facility intensifies
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has formally opposed the federal government’s plan to convert a massive Morris County warehouse into an immigration detention facility, warning that the state is prepared to use legal and regulatory tools to protect local communities as the project moves forward.
In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Sherrill said she “write[s] to express my strong opposition” to the conversion of a 470,000-square-foot industrial warehouse in Roxbury Township into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center expected to hold up to 1,500 people.
The letter follows DHS’s $129.3 million purchase of the warehouse, a move that advances plans for what could become the largest immigration detention facility on the East Coast. The acquisition has drawn swift backlash from local officials and residents and prompted protests against ICE’s growing footprint in New Jersey.
“At the outset, DHS’s lack of communication and transparency with Roxbury in its acquisition of the site is inexcusable,” Sherrill wrote. “The people of Roxbury deserve better than to learn of a plan to place an immigration detention facility in their community through a newspaper article.”
According to the governor, township officials attempted to confirm federal plans but received no response. She said DHS’s failure to engage local leaders “belies the Trump Administration’s professed commitment to transparency in government.”
Federal officials have pursued warehouse-style detention facilities as part of a broader effort to expand immigration enforcement capacity and speed processing and transfers of detainees nationwide. Plans described in federal documents envision holding individuals temporarily before transferring them to larger detention centers in other states.
Sherrill raised concerns about the size and location of the Roxbury facility, arguing that converting a sprawling warehouse in a largely residential region could strain shared municipal services and infrastructure.
“The placement of a massive immigration detention center in Roxbury raises environmental and quality of life concerns, including increased wastewater and trash, increased strain on municipal services, and increased traffic,” she wrote, adding that the state is “unaware of any steps that DHS has taken to assess the disruption to residents or the environmental impact.”
The governor also argued the project could displace economic activity tied to New Jersey’s logistics and distribution sector, which she described as a major driver of employment and tax revenue statewide.
“This facility would also siphon away what would otherwise be a viable economic opportunity for Roxbury and the entire State,” Sherrill wrote, citing the industry’s billions in annual economic activity and more than a million supported jobs.
Beyond infrastructure and economic impacts, much of the letter focuses on immigration enforcement practices and detention conditions. Sherrill said the facility would not improve public safety and pointed to reported misconduct by federal immigration officers elsewhere in the country.
“The Roxbury immigration detention facility will not make New Jerseyans safer,” she wrote, adding that federal immigration officers have “trampled on basic liberties” and violated constitutional rights in other cases.
She also questioned whether a retrofitted warehouse could safely house detainees, referencing longstanding complaints about immigration detention conditions nationwide, including facilities previously operating in New Jersey.
“An industrial warehouse — even if retrofitted — is not suitable for human confinement,” Sherrill wrote, describing reported conditions such as “undrinkable water, spoiled food, overcrowding, and a lack of medical care,” which she called “an affront to the values that New Jerseyans hold dear.”
“In short, DHS’s treatment of human beings, citizen and non-citizen alike, reflects a chilling disregard for both human life and the rule of law,” she added. “New Jersey will not be complicit in this.”
The governor said the state will evaluate potential responses, including ensuring federal compliance with environmental and immigration laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“New Jersey will assess all options to protect the community’s infrastructure, public safety, health, and long-term economic stability,” Sherrill wrote. “If DHS fails to do so, New Jersey will not hesitate to protect the interests of Roxbury residents and our communities using every tool at our disposal.”
The full text of Sherrill’s letter
Dear Secretary Noem:
I write to express my strong opposition to the Department of Homeland Security’s (“DHS”) plan to convert an industrial warehouse in Roxbury Township, New Jersey, into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) immigration detention facility to process and detain up to 1,500 individuals.
At the outset, DHS’s lack of communication and transparency with Roxbury in its acquisition of the site is inexcusable. The people of Roxbury deserve better than to learn of a plan to place an immigration detention facility in their community through a newspaper article. When Roxbury officials attempted to engage DHS to confirm the existence of such a plan, they received no reply. Despite unanimous opposition by the Roxbury Township Council, it appears that DHS intends to proceed with the project, with little or no concern for Roxbury or the surrounding communities that would be affected by this facility. DHS’s failure to engage with Roxbury residents and address the concerns of Roxbury officials belies the Trump Administration’s professed commitment to transparency in government.
Equally troublesome is the size and scope of the Roxbury facility. The current site is an industrial warehouse spanning approximately 470,000 square feet. According to news reports, DHS intends to convert the warehouse into an immigration detention facility that would accommodate up to 1,500 beds, potentially making it the largest such facility in our State. It would impose significant resource demands on Roxbury, a primarily residential community in the northwestern part of the State that shares environmental and public health services with surrounding towns. The placement of a massive immigration detention center in Roxbury raises environmental and quality of life concerns, including increased wastewater and trash, increased. strain on municipal services, and increased traffic in the vicinity of the site and the surrounding area, as well as concerns about potential conflicts with state and local building codes and zoning laws. We are unaware of any steps that DHS has taken to assess the disruption to residents or the environmental impact of a detention center in Roxbury.
This facility would also siphon away what would otherwise be a viable economic opportunity for Roxbury and the entire State. New Jersey’s warehouse and distribution sector is a critical engine of economic growth, contributing nearly $300 billion annually in business activity and directly or indirectly supporting more than 1.35 million jobs in the State. The industry generates over $112 billion in personal income and more than $33 billion in tax revenue.
Finally, the Roxbury immigration detention facility will not make New Jerseyans safer. Across the country, federal immigration officers have trampled on basic liberties and engaged in unconscionable acts of violence against law-abiding Americans. These acts of violence have left Americans severely injured and, in some cases, resulted in their deaths. ICE agents have repeatedly violated the constitutional rights of citizens and non-citizens alike. I have no reason to believe that DHS will treat the people of New Jersey any differently should it expand its presence in our State.
I am also gravely concerned about ICE’s treatment of the individuals in its custody. An industrial warehouse—even if retrofitted—is not suitable for human confinement. The deplorable conditions of ICE detention facilities throughout the country, including the Elizabeth Detention Center and Delaney Hall, are well-documented. Such conditions, which include undrinkable water, spoiled food, overcrowding, and a lack of medical care, are an affront to the values that New Jerseyans hold dear.
In short, DHS’s treatment of human beings, citizen and non-citizen alike, reflects a chilling disregard for both human life and the rule of law. New Jersey will not be complicit in this.
New Jersey will assess all options to protect the community’s infrastructure, public safety, health, and long-term economic stability. This includes ensuring DHS complies with all applicable laws, including but not limited to the National Environmental Policy Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act. If DHS fails to do so, New Jersey will not hesitate to protect the interests of Roxbury residents and our communities using every tool at our disposal.
Sincerely,
Mikie Sherrill
Governor
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Krystal Knapp is the founder of The Jersey Vindicator and the hyperlocal news website Planet Princeton. Previously she was a reporter at The Trenton Times for a decade.