UPPER BERN \u2014 In late February, Gov. Josh Shapiro criticized the Trump administration for purchasing \u201csecret ICE facilities \u2026 without giving any notice to the local community or to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, letters obtained by Spotlight PA show a state agency learned about the warehouse plans as early as Jan. 9 \u2014 nearly a month before the deeds were recorded publicly and reported on by news outlets.<\/p>\n
The Department of Homeland Security sent the letters to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to \u201cinitiate consultation\u201d about warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill Counties. The commission is an independent agency whose governing members are appointed<\/a> by the governor.<\/p>\n In a statement, a spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro said the commission made the administration aware of the letters \u201cwithin days of the Tremont and Upper Bern property deed signings, which were the last step in the secretive process undergone by DHS to purchase these facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Governor\u2019s Office does not direct PHMC\u2019s or the State Historical Preservation Office\u2019s review processes,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cDHS has still not communicated about its plans with the Shapiro Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n The spokesperson did not answer questions about the exact timing of when Shapiro\u2019s office learned about the letters. However, a source close to the administration told Spotlight PA it was shortly before the deeds were signed \u2014 on Jan. 15 in Schuylkill County and Jan. 26 in Berks County.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time the Governor’s Office was made aware of each letter, the agreements would have already been complete,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n Under the National Historic Preservation Act, federal agencies must review projects to see if they will affect historic properties. That\u2019s why DHS and ICE reached out to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.<\/p>\n In the letter dated Jan. 9, ICE outlined its plan to convert a Tremont warehouse into a detention center, referred to in the document as \u201cNew ICE Philadelphia Mega Center.\u201d The agency said the interior of the warehouse may be \u201crenovated or rebuilt\u201d to include processing spaces, office space, health care spaces, bathrooms, and cafeterias.<\/p>\n Some of the exterior changes to the former Big Lots distribution center may include painting, repairing or replacing the roof, and adding security equipment. ICE said it determined that the planned renovations would result in \u201cNo Historic Properties Affected.\u201d<\/p>\n In the other letter, dated Jan. 21, ICE describes its plans for the former Hamburg Logistics Center in Upper Bern Township, which is referred to as \u201cNew ICE Philadelphia Processing Center.\u201d The planned renovations are similar to those planned for the Tremont site.<\/p>\n The agency noted some \u201chistoric-age resources\u201d near the Berks County warehouse, including a mobile home community not subject to preservation protections and an estimated pre-1875 farm complex that ICE says shouldn\u2019t be adversely affected.<\/p>\n Jay Losiewicz, communications director for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, said the agency has not completed its review of ICE\u2019s proposed modifications to the warehouses.<\/p>\n The commission has requested additional information from ICE to better understand the projects\u2019 potential to affect historic properties, and to provide an opinion on ICE\u2019s \u201cNo Adverse Effect\u201d and \u201cNo Historic Properties Affected\u201d findings, Losiewicz said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe PHMC\u2019s role is to advise the agency and may disagree, but ultimately the finding under Section 106 is the responsibility of the federal agency,\u201d Losiewicz said.<\/p>\n Berks and Schuylkill County leaders, as well as Upper Bern Township officials, have said they had no prior knowledge of ICE\u2019s plans for the warehouses until the deeds were filed on Feb. 2.<\/p>\n Officials from both counties met with Shapiro last week and raised concerns about property tax revenue losses and whether local water and sewage systems could support the planned mass detention facilities.<\/p>\n Groups of residents have rallied to oppose the planned ICE facilities and called on local and state officials to take stronger action to block the developments. Shapiro has vowed to use \u201cevery tool at his disposal\u201d to stop the detention centers, though he has declined<\/a> to provide more details about those plans.<\/p>\n