ICE said that it purchased a warehouse in Chester, New York, to convert it into an immigration detention center, but local leaders and activists are opposing the plan.
Local politicians in the Hudson Valley area are saying they have no record of such a transaction and are ready to go to court if needed, while activists are not mincing words, saying they do not want ICE in the area.
The former Pep Boys distribution warehouse on Elizabeth Drive was meant to hold about 100 employees, but the federal government wants to turn it into a facility that holds 1,500 people, plus workers and visitors, Chester Village Supervisor Brandon Holdridge said, adding that Chester does not have the sewage capacity for such a high volume of people.
Additionally, Holdridge said, the warehouse sits in a flood plain on wetlands.
This potential future detention facility site is now the focus of a statewide movement to halt ICE’s project before construction begins.
More than 50 elected officials signed a bipartisan letter calling on the Department of Homeland Security to reconsider.
“My residents don’t want this here. I don’t think the majority of Orange County wants this here,” Chester Town Supervisor Brandon Holdridge said.
Meanwhile, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, posted a video on Facebook. According to him, the county heard around the start of the new year that ICE was interested in buying the former Pep Boys distribution center warehouse after it became vacant.
“We heard about it because the federal government had filed a permit to do work in the wetlands,” he said, adding that the county was “never notified by the federal government, we just saw that that was filed.”
Neuhaus said that the community is concerned about the future detention center.
Not only has the local governments filed objections in the form of letters opposing the idea, Neuhaus said that the County is ready to file a lawsuit if needed.
“We can’t sue yet, because there hasn’t been any actions yet,” he said. “We haven’t received official word by the federal government. Zero communication from ICE that they are coming here.”
Neuhaus said that when talking to other counties nationwide who have also dealt with ICE, it seems to be standard that the agency does not work with local governments.
“That’s their MO. We see this happening in other places,” he said.
Last month, a standing room only crowd packed a board meeting to voice their concerns which included the impact to infrastructure, public safety and the economy given that the potential site for the ICE detention facility is in an industrial area with many other businesses which may be impacted.
Additionally, Holdridge pointed out, the warehouse currently provides around $520,000 in tax revenue to Chester. If the federal government takes over, that revenue will go down to zero “and taxpayers here will have to pick up the slack on the cost there or we’ll have to do budget cuts.”
Holdridge said that inevitable protestors that will come to the future facility will also spread local law enforcement thin given that Chester only has 40 officers, because of this there needs to be coordination and additional help from nearby municipalities.
Local activists are also making their voice heard, taking to a bridge to catch drivers’ attention, not mincing their words.
“They came in and just tugged the rug right from under us. Nobody knows a thing,” activist Vanessa Cid, of For the Many, said.
“We don’t need anymore of these centers in fact they should be closing these centers,” Ellen Spirer, of the Hudson River Brigade, said.
“It’s no longer a case of right vs left. It’s a case of right vs wrong,” Amy Shaw, of the Hudson River Brigade, said.
In a statement, an ICE spokesperson confirmed the purchase.
“ICE purchased a facility in Chester, New York. These will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. Sites will undergo community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase. The Chester facility and its construction are expected to bring more than 1,246 jobs to the area and would contribute $153.4 million to GDP. It’s also projected to bring in more than $37.2 million in tax revenue,” the statement read in part.
“These economic benefits don’t even take into account that removing criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers,” the statement went on to say.
Despite ICE confirming the purchase, Holdridge says a bipartisan effort to fight it will continue.
“This federal government really needs to reconsider how it’s handling all this because it’s a disaster,” Holdridge said.
The number of ICE detention sites has doubled
More than 75,000 immigrants were being detained by ICE as of mid-January, up from 40,000 when Trump took office a year earlier, according to federal data released Tuesday.
In a little over a year, the number of detention facilities used by ICE more than doubled, to 225 sites spread across a combined 48 states and territories. Most of that growth came through existing contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service or deals to use empty beds at county jails.
Trump’s administration now is taking steps to open more large-scale facilities. In January, ICE paid $102 million for a warehouse in Washington County, Maryland, $84 million for one in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and more than $70 million for one in Surprise, Arizona. It also solicited public comment on a proposed warehouse purchase in a flood plain in Chester, New York.
Federal immigration officials have toured large warehouses elsewhere, without releasing many details about the efforts.
“They will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards,” ICE said in a statement, adding: “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”