Confusion spread through the Garden State on Wednesday after reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement purchased a controversial warehouse in Roxbury to turn it into a detention center.
A news report, initially published Wednesday, cited federal officials confirming the Roxbury warehouse off Route 46 had been purchased by ICE.
The news sparked outrage from Democratic congressional members, including Sen. Cory Booker who issued a statement condemning the reported purchase as “an affront to the Roxbury community who resoundingly rejected the prospect of a facility weeks ago.”
Wednesday night, an ICE spokesperson told NJ.com that “we have no new detention centers to announce in New Jersey at this time.”
The statement said detention centers “will not be warehouses – they will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards.”
By Thursday morning, Roxbury’s mayor issued a statement disputing reports that ICE had purchased the building.
“As of yesterday, February 18, 2026, following direct communication with the current property owner, they have advised that there is no contract in place with any prospective buyer for the property in question,” Roxbury Mayor Shawn Potillo said.
“We have reached out to DHS for clarification as well,” he added. “They have responded, stating that their original statement was issued without proper approval and that no facility was purchased in Roxbury.”
On Wednesday evening, U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez Jr. and several other Democratic congressional members launched a statewide effort to oppose a detention center in Roxbury.
“I have personally witnessed abhorrent conditions at Delaney Hall, and the idea that this Administration wants to replicate them at an even bigger scale at warehouses not meant for human occupancy is horrific,” Menendez said in the statement.
On Jan. 13, more than a month before the confusion over the warehouse purchase, Roxbury Township’s mayor and council unanimously approved a resolution opposing an immigration detention center in the township. The next day, protesters lined Route 46 to demonstrate their opposition to a detention center.
Local officials have serious concerns about infrastructure capacity at the warehouse, including water, sewer and public safety issues, if the location is eventually converted into a detention facility.
ICE said in its statement that the agency was planning expansions to their detention facilities. A report from the New York Times found the Roxbury warehouse, if converted into a detention facility, could add 1,500 beds to the state’s detention centers.
The facility would be the state’s third detention center and the largest in New Jersey. ICE officials did not answer questions about whether a potential facility in Roxbury would be privately run.
GEO Group operates Delaney Hall in Newark, which has 1,000 beds. The Elizabeth Detention Center, owned and operated by CoreCivic, is much smaller.
Besides detention centers, ICE expanded its footprint in New Jersey by leasing office space in Roseland to house about 40 attorneys and paralegals.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill has aggressively moved to rein in ICE’s tactics in her first month in office, proposing legislation to limit the state’s cooperation with the federal agency and force ICE agents not to wear masks in public.
Sherrill also signed an executive order limiting where ICE can operate on state property and established a database for the public to upload videos of interactions with ICE officials.
NJ.com staff writer Steve Strunsky contributed reporting to this article.