ICE has purchased N.J. warehouse for use as a detention center, officials confirm

The warehouse in Roxbury at the center of public controversy over whether it will become a U.S. Immigration and Customs Detention center was sold on Friday, according to a social media post from U.S. Sen. Cory Booker.

“ICE reportedly closed a deal worth tens of millions of dollars to warehouse human beings in Roxbury, New Jersey,” Booker, D-N.J., said on X. “It betrays everything this community stands for and then hands them the bill.”

A spokesperson for Booker’s office said Roxbury Mayor Shawn Potillo confirmed the sale.

“Let us be clear: Roxbury Township will not passively accept this outcome,” the township said in a statement released Friday evening. “The Township Council and our legal team have been preparing to pursue all available legal remedies.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said: “ICE purchased a facility in Roxbury, New Jersey.

“These will not be warehouses — they will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards,” an ICE spokesman said.

The agency’s statement said construction at the facility would creating 1,300 jobs and create $39.2 million in tax revenue. The site would undergo community impact studies and other due diligence to ensure the facility would not place a hardship on the local infrastructure and utilities.

“ICE’s purchase of a warehouse in Roxbury Township — after lying to the public and saying it had not done so earlier this week — is the latest lie and betrayal of the public’s trust by the Trump Administration,” U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, D-8th Dist., said in a statement. “DHS and ICE have repeatedly and maliciously lied to the American public while they continue to relentlessly attack our communities.”

The No ICE North Jersey Alliance said Friday it will continue to oppose the detention center.

“Our goal remains the same, though the fight has today taken on a different dimension,” said spokesperson William Angus. “Both public protests and pressure on elected officials and involved parties will continue — because the only acceptable outcome is for the property to remain a warehouse for goods, not people.”

The warehouse off Route 46 has been the subject of controversy after it was discovered ICE was considering purchasing the property to open a third detention center in New Jersey.

There was widespread confusion on Wednesday after a news report was published saying the warehouse was sold, citing a statement from ICE.

The news sparked outrage from Democratic congressional members, including Booker, who issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the reported purchase as “an affront to the Roxbury community who resoundingly rejected the prospect of a facility weeks ago.”

An ICE spokesperson told NJ.com on Wednesday night 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,” 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, Menendez 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 and fellow Democrats in the state Legislature, have aggressively moved to rein in ICE’s tactics in recent months. That includes legislation that would limit the state’s cooperation with the federal agency and force ICE agents not to wear masks in public.

Sherrill, a Democrat in her first month in office, 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.