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This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA<\/a>, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom.<\/p>\n UPPER BERN \u2014 The Trump administration this week finalized the $87.4 million purchase of a warehouse in Berks County that a member of Congress says will be used as an ICE processing and detention facility.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what we know so far:<\/p>\n What do we know about the warehouse?<\/p>\n The warehouse at 3501 Mountain Road has never been used, but it was initially designed and constructed as a commercial facility. The property is located in an area of Upper Bern Township that is zoned for industrial development.<\/a><\/p>\n Transwestern Development Company completed construction in 2021 and later sold<\/a> the warehouse to PCCP, a national commercial real estate equity firm, for $57.5 million. Since it was built and placed on the market, the property has remained vacant while generating about $199,620 annually in county property taxes, $31,229 in township taxes, and $597,110 for the Hamburg Area School District.<\/p>\n A marketing brochure for the Hamburg Logistics Center<\/a> describes the warehouse as a \u201cstate-of-the-art logistics center\u201d designed for large-scale distribution operations.<\/p>\n Why did ICE purchase the warehouse?<\/p>\n ICE recently purchased warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, but the agency has not publicly shared any specifics about how it plans to use them.<\/p>\n However, U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican who represents part of the county, told NOTUS and Spotlight PA, \u201cIt will be a processing facility and a detention facility.\u201d He said he spoke to Trump administration officials on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Internal documents obtained by multiple local and national news outlets show a broad push by the Trump administration to acquire commercial warehouses as part of a plan to expand detention across the country, an effort funded by $45 billion approved by Congress through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.<\/p>\n The nearly 520,000-square-foot warehouse, previously known as the Hamburg Logistics Center, is one of 23 locations ICE plans to redevelop into a mass detention facility, according to reporting from Bloomberg<\/a>. The outlet reported it could hold up to 1,500 people.<\/p>\n What do elected officials know?<\/p>\n Elected officials contacted by Spotlight PA and NOTUS for this story said they have limited knowledge of ICE\u2019s plans to purchase warehouses in the state, and that they are trying to get more information from the federal government.<\/p>\n Meuser said Trump officials did not answer all of his questions.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the details we\u2019re going to get to the bottom of, as far as how many people are going to be detained there, what the capacity is, how many new employees, and all the other things that, all the details that really matter to our community,\u201d Meuser told NOTUS and Spotlight PA. \u201cWe\u2019re just going to make sure it goes as well as possible. It\u2019s a decision [the Department of Homeland Security] made, and we\u2019re, you know, we just got to work with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Meuser said he would have discussions with county commissioners and state representatives \u201cto fill them in on everything\u201d he is aware of.<\/p>\n Berks County\u2019s three commissioners \u2014 Republicans Christian Leinbach and Michael Rivera, and Democrat Dante Santoni Jr. \u2014 said during a Thursday meeting that they have not received confirmation from the federal government about how the warehouse will be used.<\/p>\n \u201cI was not contacted by ICE,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cWe cannot stop a sale that is a private transaction of land and property ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n Rivera said residents should direct concerns to federal officials and ICE.<\/p>\n \u201cSince ICE is a federal agency, they are the ones who have the say over what happens at the federal level,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cWe are looking into some of the things at this point. I do not have any other details.\u201d<\/p>\n Leinbach, who chairs the body, expressed concern about a \u201ctotal lack of transparency\u201d with the sale of the property.<\/p>\n \u201cNo matter what you think about ICE \u2026 you should be very concerned about the process and how this is fundamentally changing what the plan was and what was approved literally overnight, and ask the question, \u2018What kind of an impact does that have, and what kind of a precedent does that set for this community?\u2019\u201d Leinbach said. \u201cI\u2019m gravely concerned about this.\u201d<\/p>\n State Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, a Democrat who represents part of Berks County and chairs the Legislative Latino Caucus, said the purchase \u201crisks provoking fear, disrupting families, and endangering the well-being of our neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBerks County has faced an ICE detention facility before, and after years of sustained community advocacy, that center ultimately closed. That history matters,\u201d said Cepeda-Freytiz, whose district is 40% Hispanic. \u201cWhile many questions remain about the scope and operations of this proposed facility, I will continue to use every tool available to demand transparency, protect due process, and stand with our most vulnerable neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n Can local or state governments stop it?<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said the administration opposes the Department of Homeland Security establishing new detention facilities in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the state does not get advance notice of or approve these types of sales, our Administration is actively evaluating our options,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Berks County officials said they do not know at this point if the county has the power to stop the development of the ICE facility.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to sit here and say we have no power to stop this, because I don\u2019t know that for certain. Legal will be looking at that,\u201d Leinbach said.<\/p>\n County Solicitor Christine Sadler said in the meeting that she needs to confirm the use for the facility and get more information from the township about potential zoning issues.<\/p>\n What additional approvals are needed?<\/p>\n Upper Bern Township officials said they were not aware of the purchase before it happened.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Township was not involved in this transfer and has not received any applications from either the prior or new owners regarding the future use of the property,\u201d Andrew Hoffman, solicitor for Upper Bern Township, said in a statement.<\/p>\n Hoffman declined to answer questions about what the zoning and permitting processes would be for the federally owned warehouse going forward.<\/p>\n During Thursday\u2019s meeting, Rivera said the county has no authority over zoning or any applicable permits for the warehouse. That authority lies with municipalities, he said.<\/p>\n Are there already ICE detention facilities in PA?<\/p>\n Seven facilities in Pennsylvania detain people for ICE, according to information published by the agency.<\/p>\n One facility is a federal prison in Philadelphia. Another is the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, which is operated by a private contractor as part of an agreement where the local government operates as a middleman<\/a>.<\/p>\n The other five are county jails.<\/p>\n How have ICE purchases unfolded?<\/p>\n ICE also recently purchased a 1.3-million-square-foot warehouse in Schuylkill County for $119.5 million. Commissioners there have expressed opposition to the proposed detention center. It would hold up to 7,500 people, Meuser told elected officials, according to the Republican Herald.<\/p>\n In a recent meeting<\/a>, Schuylkill County Commissioner Larry Padora said he is concerned about the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in local tax revenue, insufficient water, sewage capacity, and security. Padora noted that the combined population of Tremont Township and Tremont Borough represents only a quarter of the capacity ICE is planning for the detention center, the Herald reported.<\/p>\n \u201cTremont sewage treatment plant, we confirmed yesterday, is not big enough to handle this, and their water system does not have the capacity to handle this,\u201d Padora said.<\/p>\n Susan Smith, director of planning and GIS for Schuylkill County, told Spotlight PA that the zoning ordinance does not apply to uses or structures owned and operated by a state or federal agency.<\/a> Tremont Township would be responsible for the enforcement of building codes.<\/p>\n ICE has also purchased warehouses in Washington<\/a> and Howard Counties in Maryland, where both projects have met opposition from residents and local officials.<\/p>\n Howard County revoked a building permit for a proposed detention facility<\/a> in Elkridge. In a press conference, County Executive Calvin Ball said, \u201cThe retrofitting of private office buildings for detention use, without transparency, without public input, without clear oversight, is deeply troubling.\u201d<\/p>\n Avani Kalra of NOTUS contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. Spotlight PA\u2019s Kate Huangpu and Sarah Anne Hughes contributed from Harrisburg.<\/p>\n BEFORE YOU GO\u2026 If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org\/donate<\/a>. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you<\/a> who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.<\/p>\n BEFORE YOU GO\u2026 If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org\/donate<\/a>. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you<\/a> who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.<\/p>\n
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