Senator John Fetterman is welcoming reports that the Department of Homeland Security has abandoned plans to convert warehouse facilities in Schuylkill and Berks counties into immigration detention centers.
Following a report published Thursday by The New York Times indicating that Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to sell or transfer several warehouses purchased as part of a nationwide detention expansion effort, Fetterman released a statement expressing support for the reported decision involving the facilities in Tremont Township and Upper Bern Township.
“I’m pleased to confirm ICE will not be moving forward with detention facilities in Tremont and Upper Bern Townships,” Fetterman said.
The senator said he appreciated what he described as a recognition by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin of the concerns that had been raised about the impact the facilities would have had on Pennsylvania communities.
“I appreciate that Secretary Mullin recognized the negative impacts these facilities would have in Pennsylvania—including the direct threat to local economies and infrastructure—and cancelled these plans,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman said he will continue working with the administration and fellow senators on immigration reform while seeking to protect communities and migrants who are legally present in the country.
“I will continue to work toward solutions with the administration and my Senate colleagues that properly address the broken immigration system while ensuring that our communities and law-abiding migrants are safe and protected,” he said.
The senator's comments come several days after The New York Times reported that ICE plans to offload seven of the 11 warehouses it purchased nationwide as part of an initiative launched under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to significantly expand detention capacity.
Among the facilities identified in the report were the warehouses in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County, and Upper Bern Township, Berks County, which had become the focus of months of opposition from residents, local officials, and state leaders concerned about infrastructure, environmental impacts, emergency services, and economic effects.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor Immigration and Customs Enforcement has independently announced plans regarding the future ownership or use of the Pennsylvania properties.