U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement paid $129.3 million for a warehouse in North Jersey that it plans to use as a detention center, part of a government acquisition spree that has caused objections across the nation.
The price was not released last week when ICE, part of the Department of Homeland Security, closed on its purchase of 1879 Route 46, a vacant 470,000-square-foot industrial facility in Roxbury. The figure that the federal agency paid to the sellers — Dallas-based Dalfen Industrial and New York's Goldman Sachs Asset Management — was disclosed in filed public records this week.
ICE plans to convert the warehouse into a center for detainees as the federal government steps up its enforcement of immigration laws. The U.S. government has been making such purchases across the nation, most recently paying roughly $68.2 million for two industrial facilities under construction in Flowery Branch, Georgia.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Friday sent a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem expressing her opposition to ICE's plans in Roxbury. The governor vowed that the state would explore all its options to safeguard the community's interest and use every tool at its disposal should DHS fail to comply with applicable laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act.
In the letter, Sherrill cited what she described as the DHS's lack of transparency and disregard for community concerns — including unanimous opposition from the Roxbury Township Council — over the facility’s projected strain on local infrastructure, the environment and the economy. Sherrill also raised concerns about public safety and conditions at the proposed facility, citing what she alleged are the unacceptable and inhumane treatment of detainees at other ICE detention centers.
ICE didn’t specifically respond to Sherrill’s letter, but it reiterated what it had said previously: That it conducts community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to a warehouse’s purchase.
In Roxbury and other municipalities, residents and local officials have voiced opposition to plans for detention centers in their midst. Some objectors argue that the facilities will strain their community services, such as fire and police, and pose threats to public safety. Others are politically opposed to the incarceration of people accused of being illegal immigrants.
The sale of the Roxbury warehouse was one of the topics at a Township Council meeting this week, with the municipality weighing whether to go to court to fight the sale. Opponents of the detention center have slated a protest for this weekend.