BERKS COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro said he intends to use “every single bit of power” he has to prevent the federal government from following through with plans to convert two Pennsylvania warehouses into ICE detention centers.
The governor spoke at the Berks County Agricultural Center in Leesport Thursday afternoon following a meeting with Berks and Schuylkill county officials regarding U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s plans.
CBS 21 streamed the event live. You can watch on our YouTube and Facebook pages or in the video player below:
The two warehouses are located in Berks County and Schuylkill counties and were confirmed to have been purchased by the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year. The governor has previously said the properties could hold a combined 9,000 people.
The plans have sparked protests and mixed reactions from those who live nearby.
“I’ve obviously been very outspoken about the violation of constitutional rights at the hands of ICE, and I continue to believe that they are on a failed mission directed by President Trump and Secretary Noem, and they are violating people’s constitutional rights all across this country,” Shapiro said during the Thursday press conference.
Shapiro said after speaking with county leaders, concerns were raised about who would actually be running the detention centers and “whether they will protect the human rights of the individuals involved.”
Warehouse site located at 50 Rausch Creek Road in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County, Pa., (left) and{ }warehouse, located at at 3501 Mountain Road in Upper Berns Township, Berks County, Pa. (right). (Courtesy of Google Earth/WHP)
He also accused DHS of purchasing the warehouses and signing the deeds in secret. The governor said that community leaders and commissioners—both Republicans and Democrats—were not aware of the purchase before it happened, and since the purchase, they’ve felt unsatisfied with the answers they’re getting from the federal government.
Shapiro echoed concerns he and state leaders wrote in a letter Feb. 12 to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem regarding a lack of water and sewage infrastructure to support the facilities.
READ MORE | Governor implores DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to reconsider using PA warehouses for ICE
The governor said that if the detention center is built as planned, Tremont Township will “literally run out of water within 24 hours.”
That means that they literally wont be able to turn on the water in their kitchen and fill up a pot of water,” Shapiro said. “They won’t be able to flush the toilet.
He said the Tremont water system already has difficulty meeting the needs of its current customers, and it would have to triple its capacity to support the detention center.
Shapiro said the federal government has proposed trucking in water, but the governor said they wouldn’t be able to truck in enough, plus you’d have to truck out the waste water, which he said could also potentially hurt roads in the area.
The governor said the federal government would need a number of permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, along with other regulatory approvals from the Commonwealth, to go through with its plans. Shapiro said he is examining each of those permits and regulations.
He also said there are regulatory steps the Commonwealth can take, but he declined to go into detail about any specific legal action planned.
“I intend to use every single bit of power that is reserved in my disposal as the leader of this Commonwealth to stand up to the federal government,” Shapiro said, “and what I see as an overreach that would create havoc in our communities, that would bring the kind of chaos and cruelty that we’re seeing from this administration every day into Pennsylvania.”
Shapiro was joined at Thursday’s event by Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen, Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy Walker and senior leaders from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
CBS 21 News has reached out to DHS for comment in response to the governor’s concerns.