(WHTM) — U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) criticized the federal government’s purchase of two Pennsylvania warehouses to use as detention centers, and a group of Lehigh Valley officials condemned the same.

Fetterman’s criticism comes as the Department of Homeland Security bought the former Big Lots distribution center at Rausch Creek in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County, and a warehouse in Upper Bern Township, Berks County, near Hamburg.

“While I have been clear in my support for the enforcement of federal immigration law, this decision will do significant damage to these local tax bases, set back decades-long efforts to boost economic development, and place undue burdens on limited existing infrastructure in these communities,” Fetterman said in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

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Fetterman says the two warehouses will be used as 7,500- and 1,500-bed detention centers for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Schuylkill County Commissioners Chairman shared with Nexstar’s WBRE that the sale will lead to nearly $1 million in lost tax revenue annually — $223,000 for Schuylkill County, $556,000 for Pine Grove Area Schools, and $195,000 for Tremont Township.

“This loss of vital tax dollars compounds concerns over the ability of these municipalities to meet the infrastructure needs of these facilities and would place undue strain upon the budgets of local governments and school districts in the region,” Fetterman added in his letter to Noem.

Fetterman says the centers will add to a burden on water and sewer systems, the electrical grid, and local law enforcement capacity, among other concerns. Fetterman is seeking a briefing on the criteria that led DHS to purchase the two sites, an impact assessment on the communities nearby, a commitment that federal funds will cover infrastructure upgrades, and a period of public engagement with the communities.

County urges property owners not to sell, lease to ICE

With the two sales occurring in a neighboring county and an ongoing warehouse development boom in the Lehigh Valley, Lehigh County officials sent a letter to industrial property owners Friday, urging them not to sell or lease facilities for detention centers.

County Executive Josh Siegel penned the letter, which was also signed by Controller Mark Pinsley and four county commissioners: Geoff Brace, Shelia Alvarado, Jon Irons, and Zach Cole-Borghi.

Also signing the letter were Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, Bethlehem City Council Members Hillary Kwiatek and Rachel Leon, members of the East Penn, Parkland, and Southern Lehigh school boards, and Lower Macungie Township and South Whitehall Township commissioners.

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“We write to urge you to refrain from selling or leasing any industrial or warehouse space for use as an immigration detention facility by the federal government,” the letter reads, addressed to “Lehigh County Industrial Property Owners.”

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They allege that ICE detention facilities “have a well-documented history of serious human rights concerns,” and say that such a facility “would stand in direct opposition to the values of dignity, humanity, and mutual respect that define our region.”

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