The proposed immigration detention facilities in Schuylkill and Berks counties may never open, according to a report published Thursday by The New York Times, which says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning to sell or transfer most of the warehouses it purchased as part of a nationwide detention expansion initiative.
In a story published June 18, The New York Times reported that ICE intends to offload seven of the 11 warehouses it acquired across the country at a cost of more than $700 million. Among the sites identified are the facilities in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County, and Upper Bern Township near Hamburg, Berks County.
According to the report by Times reporter Hamed Aleaziz, ICE may either transfer the properties to other federal agencies or sell them outright, marking a significant shift from a major initiative launched under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The facilities in Schuylkill and Berks counties were purchased as part of a broader effort to expand detention capacity and support President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda. Altogether, ICE spent approximately $1 billion acquiring 11 warehouses nationwide.
The Department of Homeland Security told The New York Times that it remains focused on removing what it described as "the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" and is reevaluating how best to accomplish that goal.
"D.H.S. is moving swiftly to utilize existing detention space with our state and county partners," the department said in a statement to the newspaper.
In a statement to Skook News a DHS Spokesperson said "“From day one, DHS has remained singularly focused on removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from the United States and is always evaluating the best methods to do so. These heinous criminals, once arrested, should be removed at lightning speed, not housed on American soil at the taxpayer’s expense. DHS is moving swiftly to utilize EXISTING detention space with our state and county partners.”
Pennsylvania facilities among seven sites to be abandoned
According to the report, ICE plans to dispose of warehouse properties located in:
- Tremont and Hamburg, Pennsylvania;
- Romulus, Michigan;
- Roxbury, New Jersey;
- Social Circle and Flowery Branch, Georgia; and
- Salt Lake City, Utah.
The agency reportedly still intends to move forward with four facilities located in Texas, Arizona, and Maryland, although a federal judge has blocked work on the Maryland site.
Legal challenges and local opposition cited
The Times reported that the warehouse initiative has faced mounting obstacles, including lawsuits alleging a lack of environmental review and investigations by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General.
In Pennsylvania, the proposed facilities became the focus of opposition from residents and officials from both political parties. Concerns centered on water and sewer capacity, emergency services, healthcare resources, economic impacts, and environmental issues.
In March, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued administrative orders prohibiting water and sewer service to the facilities until federal officials demonstrated compliance with state environmental laws.
Governor Josh Shapiro has repeatedly voiced opposition to the projects and pledged to use state regulatory authority to block them.
Questions remain about future use
It remains unclear whether the Schuylkill and Berks County warehouses will ultimately be sold, transferred to another federal agency, or repurposed for another use.
The Times reported that ICE's decision to retreat from the warehouse initiative reflects the difficulty of creating large-scale detention facilities and the legal and logistical challenges that emerged after the purchases.
Former senior ICE official Claire Trickler-McNulty told The New York Times that the plan had encountered "serious headaches," including litigation, investigations, and delays.
Neither ICE nor DHS has announced a timeline for the disposition of the Pennsylvania properties.
The report comes after months of controversy surrounding the proposed detention centers, which would have housed thousands of detainees and dramatically increased the population in the communities where they were planned.
Information for this story was reported by Hamed Aleaziz and published by The New York Times on June 18, 2026.
Link to news article
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/us/politics/ice-warehouses-immigration.html