A youth detention center in Berks County is now reportedly housing undocumented immigrant teens.
According to reporting from the Washington Post this month, the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement has begun detaining unaccompanied migrant teenagers at Abraxas Academy in New Morgan.
A sign off of Route 10 in New Morgan points the way to Abraxas Academy in New Morgan. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)
Officials from the ORR, which cares for unaccompanied migrant children, could not immediately be reached for comment by the Reading Eagle.
According to the Post report, ORR awarded $9 million to Abraxas Alliance in August to hold up to 30 young immigrants deemed a danger to themselves or others. Abraxas Alliance is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization that operates the Berks facility.
Since early October, migrant boys — some of whom have no pending criminal charges — have been held in a dedicated wing of the facility, according to the Washington Post.
Officials from Abraxas Alliance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Abraxas Academy has a documented history of abuse allegations and recently had one of its three state licenses revoked by Pennsylvania officials following an incident of staff violence against a child.
Caernarvon Township Police Chief Paul Stolz, whose department covers Abraxas Academy, said the facility has long been a point of focus for police.
Caernarvon Township Police Chief Paul Stolz
Stolz said that in 2025 alone, the department responded to at least 50 incidents at the facility. Those incidents included fights between inmates, claims of abuse by staff members, attempted escapes and an incident that left three police officers with minor injuries.
“It’s a problem spot for us,” he said. “There’s a daily concern that something could happen there like another escape. But I also worry about the potential of a shooter at our schools so this is just the nature of the job.”
However, Stolz added, he does not believe that the addition of immigrant teens to the facility will impact the police department.
Stolz said he was first made aware of the situation when he received a call from the Washington Post reporter who wrote the story about how the Trump administration was jailing migrant teens at the facility.
Stolz said he reached out to his contact at the organization to find out more about the situation. He was informed that the migrant teens are being detained in one wing of the building, while juveniles sent there through county court systems — including Berks — are held in a separate wing of the building.
He said that while housing migrant teens at the facility is unlikely to have an impact on the police department, he would have appreciated being told about the agreement with the federal government from Abraxas Alliance officials.
“It makes no difference to us but we were caught off guard,” he said. “It would have been nice to know beforehand so when we get calls like this we know what the situation is. And they acknowledged they dropped the ball.”
Stolz said he was not informed why these young men are being detained at the facility, whether they simply have nowhere else to place them or whether they have been accused of violent crimes.
“Anything is possible, and that’s part of the problem,” he said. “We don’t get any information pertaining to any of the persons who are brought to the facility.”
Stolz said the department will continue to handle any incidents that may arise at the facility.