...
By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Local leaders have been urged to replicate a temporary halt on new data centers to block federal immigration detention centers after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pulled out of seven planned new sites.
The move comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reversed course on a key part of its detention expansion strategy, planning to sell or transfer seven industrial warehouses it acquired as part of a roughly $1 billion effort to increase capacity nationwide, The New York Times reported.
Data Center Debate Fuels Maryland Opposition
In Washington County, Maryland, where a separate ICE warehouse project near Hagerstown remains tied up in court, the debate has taken on new urgency. Residents opposing the facility say the same concerns driving a proposed moratorium on data centers, including water usage, energy demand and environmental impact, should also apply to federal detention projects.
Read More on News
Local activists have pointed to the county’s draft rules on data centers, which cite risks such as heavy energy consumption, noise and pressure on public infrastructure, as a model for regulating large-scale developments.
Washington County officials are considering a temporary moratorium on future data center development while studying potential impacts on water resources, wastewater systems, energy demand, land use and long-term infrastructure planning.
...
Kyle McCarthy, a spokesperson at Hagerstown Rapid Response, told Newsweek: "Those are many of the same concerns residents, environmental advocates and the State of Maryland have been raising for months about the proposed 1,500-bed ICE detention warehouse near Williamsport."
Dalton Lee, an organizer with Hagerstown Rapid Response, said in a press release: "If county leaders suddenly believe major projects should be studied before they move forward, they're about six months too late. Data centers deserve scrutiny, but ICE detention centers deserve a free pass? That's not responsible government. That's politics."
Laura Spivak, an organizer with Washington County Indivisible, said in a press release: "It's a slap in the face to County residents that Washington County Commissioners are willing to consider environmental and infrastructure impacts of a data center, but have ignored us for months when we raised the same concerns about the ICE detention warehouse. Constituents deserve answers about why DHS gets the red carpet treatment while other projects are being more heavily weighed."
A spokesperson for the Washington County Board of Commissioners told Newsweek that the county "does not comment on speculative questions or hypothetical comparisons involving unrelated projects."
"All information the county has regarding the warehouse property has already been publicly released, and we have no further information to share at this time," the spokesperson said.
Local Backlash Emerged Across Proposed Warehouse Sites
Across the country, similar concerns have been raised in communities where ICE sought to convert warehouses into detention sites. Local officials in some towns said they learned of federal plans only after purchases were completed, while residents cited potential impacts on water systems, emergency services and quality of life.
The warehouses slated for disposal by ICE are in Romulus, Michigan; Social Circle and Flowery Branch, Georgia; Hamburg and Tremont, Pennsylvania; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Roxbury, New Jersey, towns where residents and local officials had already raised concerns about infrastructure strain and a lack of consultation, The New York Times reported.
ICE still appears to be moving forward with four warehouse detention projects in San Antonio and Socorro, Texas; Surprise, Arizona; and Hagerstown, Maryland, the official said.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said on June 18 that ICE’s move to offload the Romulus warehouse followed the lawsuit her office filed with the city.
"The decision to sell the facility is a victory not just for the residents of Romulus whose day-to-day life would have been negatively impacted by its presence, but for the entire metro region," Nessel said in a press release. "The ICE warehouse proposal was every bit as ill-conceived as it was cruel and unnecessary, and I am relieved that this chapter is coming to a close."
In Georgia, opposition emerged from local officials in Hall County and the city of Oakwood, near a proposed detention warehouse in Flowery Branch. Oakwood officials asked DHS and ICE to pause the project pending additional environmental, infrastructure and economic review, while Hall County commissioners publicly backed the city’s concerns.
In Pennsylvania, local reaction remained contentious around two proposed warehouse sites.
In Berks County, where ICE acquired a warehouse near Hamburg, county officials said they were caught off guard by the purchase. Emails published by Spotlight PA on June 16 showed local officials fielding growing public concern about transparency, infrastructure impacts and potential tax consequences. Berks County Commissioner Michael Rivera told the outlet there had been a “lack of communication” from DHS and ICE regarding the project.
In Schuylkill County, opposition to a proposed detention warehouse near Tremont continued this month as state and local officials challenged the project over water and sewer capacity concerns.
Governor Josh Shapiro said his administration would continue fighting the conversion, while Pennsylvania environmental regulators had already determined that the project could not proceed without additional approvals tied to wastewater infrastructure and environmental review.
In Utah, Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County filed suit on June 8 seeking to block a proposed detention warehouse, arguing that the facility would violate zoning and strain local infrastructure.
Salt Lake City Council Chair Alejandro Puy said in a statement: “The impact of this facility poses far too great a threat to our essential water supply, critical infrastructure, and core societal values.”
In New Jersey, fierce opposition to a proposed warehouse conversion in Roxbury has resulted in DHS and ICE withdrawing plans.
Governor Mikie Sherrill and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport joined Roxbury Township in suing the Trump administration over the proposed ICE detention warehouse project.
"That is a big win for public safety, for the township of Roxbury, and for New Jersey," the pair said in a joint statement. “DHS’s plans were always illegal: the Roxbury warehouse is a logistics center fit for packages, not thousands of people, and did nothing to make New Jersey safer. In fact, we told them it would have devastating impacts on the water and sewage systems, and compromise an environmentally sensitive area. That’s why we joined the town of Roxbury in court and stopped this detention center from moving forward in the first place."
With ICE now retreating from part of its warehouse strategy, some local advocates say the episode could influence ongoing policy discussions. In Washington County, where officials are still weighing how to regulate data centers, activists are urging decision makers to apply consistent standards across projects, including federal ones, that could reshape land use and strain local systems.
For now, both debates remain unsettled. The future of the Washington County detention site is tied up in court, while officials continue to evaluate possible restrictions on data centers. Across the country, communities affected by ICE’s warehouse purchases are left to reckon with projects that were proposed, contested and, in some cases, abruptly abandoned.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines