The state Department of Environmental Protection says it “has no plans to modify” its orders blocking ICE’s use of the facilities
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials have responded to orders from the Shapiro administration effectively blocking their use of two Pennsylvania warehouses purchased by the federal agency in Upper Bern Township in Berks County and Tremont Township in Schuylkill County.
ICE plans to convert the facilities into mass detention centers that could collectively hold up to 9,000 detainees. The Shapiro administration has warned such plans would overburden local water and sewer infrastructure, and would likely violate state water regulations.
Letters from ICE, dated March 17, expressed a willingness to work with state and local officials to assuage their concerns. But the agency requested more time to provide explanations of how it plans to comply with state law, and requested that the state relax water and sewage use restrictions in the meantime.
Neil Shader, press secretary for the state Department of Environmental Protection, told the Capital-Star the agency is reviewing the letters and “has no plans to modify the Administrative Orders at this time.
Spokespeople for ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Earlier this month, the DEP issued five administrative orders to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and officials in Berks and Schuylkill Counties.
They effectively blocked the use of the warehouses until ICE can prove they can comply with state water regulations. The orders gave a 20-day deadline for the federal agency to submit written plans on how it will do so, and directed local officials not to allow the facilities’ occupation until given state approval. The orders also prohibited ICE from hauling water to the facilities by road.
“The conversion of warehouses to detention facilities risks harming the communities in and around Tremont and Upper Bern townships,” state DEP secretary Jessica Shirley said in a press release at the time.
She added, “doubling the populations of these areas could drain drinking water sources and lead to polluted waterways from overwhelmed sewage facilities leaking raw waste into our streets and rivers. Just like anyone else, DHS needs to demonstrate its facilities comply with environmental standards.”
In their response this week, ICE asked for an extension of the state-imposed deadline to submit their compliance plans until April 30, and suspension of the 30-day period to appeal DEP’s orders until after such plans are submitted.
A DEP spokesperson told the Capital-Star the period to appeal to the Environmental Hearing Board is set by law and can not be changed by the department.
The federal agency also called water restrictions placed on them in the meantime “arbitrary,” noting that the warehouses had previously been authorized to use local water and sewage systems.
They also requested to meet with state and local officials “to discuss a practicable timeline and process-flow for working together to find solutions to the problems DEP has identified in its orders.”
The letters stated, “ICE has not discussed the DEP administrative orders in any detail with local authorities, but it believes that the orders place them in awkward positions given current water and sewage circumstances as they seek to comply with the DEP orders they received.”
They were signed by James K. Ingalsbe, assistant director of the Office of Asset and Facilities Management at ICE.
The warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill counties were purchased in January, taking many in the area by surprise. The agency planned to convert them into detention centers that could collectively house 1,500 and 7,500 people, respectively.
Once the purchases became public, the Shapiro administration, along with county and township leaders in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, voiced opposition to ICE’s plans.
A spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro directed questions about ICE’s letters to DEP, but pointed the Capital-Star to a recent statement the governor made at a March 11 press conference in Berks County.
“I’ve been very clear: We do not want these ICE detention centers in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “I’ve been very outspoken about that. I made it very clear to [former DHS Secretary Kristi] Noem, who I know is on her way out. And I’ll reiterate this to Markwayne Mullin, should he become Secretary, that we’re not going to stand for this in Pennsylvania.”
The Pennsylvania warehouse purchases were part of a larger ICE initiative to convert similar facilities around the country into detention centers. The agency has reportedly bought or made plans to acquire 24 commercial warehouses that can house over 90,000 detainees between them.
The warehouse purchases spurred reactions from elected leaders around Pennsylvania. A number of local governments have attempted to preemptively block additional sales of property to ICE or DHS in their jurisdictions.
