Plans to transform two warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill counties into Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities — which have drawn stiff pushback from local communities — appear to have been shelved.
The New York Times on Thursday reported that, based on documents the newspaper obtained, both sites are included on a list of seven warehouse properties set to be offloaded by ICE.
The seven properties, purchased for a combined $700 million, will be given to other federal agencies or sold, according to the Times.
Officials from ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reading Eagle.
The Pennsylvania properties were each bought by ICE earlier this year as part of a nationwide effort to convert former warehouses into detention facilities.
The Berks warehouse is a 527,000-square-foot building at 3501 Mountain Road in Upper Bern Township purchased in late January for $87.4 million. Officials from ICE said it would be renovated to hold 1,500 people as a processing center.
In Schuylkill, a 1.3-million-square-foot former Big Lots distribution center in Tremont Township was purchased by ICE for $119 million and was planned to house up to 7,500 people as a detention center.
ICE has been planning to use the Big Lots Distribution Center at 50 Rausch Creek Road in Tremont Township as a detention facility. (Republican Herald)
Local officials and community members — as well as state officials including Gov. Josh Shapiro — have pushed back on ICE’s plans for the two sites, citing the potential drain on local resources and environmental impact.
Among opponents’ concerts have been that the influx in population they would create would strain water and sewer systems and create difficulties for local fire and police departments. Some opponents also objected to the recent methods ICE has deployed and the reported conditions at some existing ICE facilities.
Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach on Friday said that he had seen the article in the Times but has not had any communication with federal officials about plans to offload the Bern Township property.
“We have had zero communication from DHS, ICE or anyone else,” he said. “We found out the same way everyone else did, from the New York Times article.”
He said he plans to reach out to Congressman Dan Meuser, whose district includes both the Berks and Schuylkill sites, to see if he has any additional information.
Meuser could not immediately be reached by the Reading Eagle for comment.
Upper Bern Township Solicitor Andrew Hoffman on Friday said supervisors have not heard anything about the possible transfer of the property.