Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel has rallied a group of elected officials to urge industrial property owners not to sell to immigration enforcement officials, after recent warehouse sales in Berks and Schuylkill counties raised concerns of detention center expansions in the region.
“Lehigh County should never be a place where human suffering is treated as a business opportunity,” Siegel said in a news release Friday. “We are asking property owners to stand with our community, reject the expansion of inhumane detention practices, and help ensure our county remains grounded in dignity, humanity, and respect for human rights.”
Two high-profile sales of warehouse property to the federal immigration agency have officials in neighboring counties questioning whether the locations are set up with enough water and sewer access to handle a large number of detainees and have highlighted the loss of tax income municipalities and school districts will incur when these properties move into federal ownership.
A few days later, the U.S. government bought a 1.3-million-square-foot former warehouse in Tremont Township for $119 million. The Schuylkill County site will reportedly be converted into a 7,500-person ICE detention center.
The Lehigh County elected officials who endorsed Siegel’s letter wrote that they are committed to ensuring that no future immigration detention centers will be located within the county.
“ICE detention facilities have a well-documented history of serious human rights concerns, including inadequate medical care, allegations of abuse, and deaths in custody; a reprehensible record of cruelty. The establishment of such a facility in Lehigh County would stand in direct opposition to the values of dignity, humanity, and mutual respect that define our region,” the letter states.
The letter recognizes the long history of immigrants in the Lehigh Valley and asks for business leaders to help maintain a welcoming and inclusive community.
“While local officials work to ensure that land use aligns with our regional priorities, goals, and values, federal authority can supersede local zoning, making partnership with the business community essential,” the letter says. “We encourage businesses to consider that their relationships and long-term interests in Lehigh County extend well beyond any single transaction. Community trust and public perception are critical to successful development, and decisions made today could have a direct impact on those relationships.”
In addition to Seigel, the letter was signed by: The following local officials endorsed Siegel’s letter: Mark Pinsley, Lehigh County controller; Lehigh County commissioners Geoff Brace, Shelia Alvarado, Jon Irons and Zach Cole-Borghi; Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk; Bethlehem City Council members Hillary Kwiatek and Rachel Leon; East Penn School Board directors Rita Perez, Melissa Stiavelli, Gabrielle Klotz and William Whitney; Parkland School Board directors Marisa Ziegler, Chris Pirrotta, Jon Macklin and Alyssa Beckwith; Southern Lehigh School Board directors Kimberly Jaramillo, Chris Sykora and Luis Melecio; Lower Macungie Township commissioners Stefanie Rafes and Melissa Bosak; and South Whitehall Township commissioners Sharon Fehlinger-Ricker and Glenn Guanowsky.
A spokesperson from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement could not immediately be reached for comment Friday evening.