March 20, 2026
Thomas P. Costello/Imagn Images
The Department of Homeland Security purchased a vacant industrial warehouse on Route 46 in New Jersey, pictured above, to support ICE operations.
New Jersey has sued the Trump administration over its plans to convert an abandoned industrial warehouse in Roxbury Township into a mass immigrant detention center.
The bipartisan lawsuit, which includes the Democratic-led state government and Republican-led township, seeks to block the development of the vacant property on Route 46 in Morris County. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that it had bought the 470,444-square-foot site in February, after initially denying the purchase, and said it would be renovated "in support of (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) operations" in a letter to the state's historic preservation office. But in the "rush to ramp up immigration detention capacity by using the Roxbury Warehouse," the court document reads, DHS and ICE "violate(d) federal law four times over."
The prosecutors claim the federal agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act in failing to consult state and local officials or consider their objections. The state and township, the suit says, learned of the plans from an article in the Washington Post. DHS and ICE allegedly continued to withhold details, even after the township council unanimously passed a resolution opposing the conversion of industrial warehouses into ICE processing facilities.
The site is also "an unjustifiable location" for detaining the 1,000 to 1,500 immigrants ICE typically houses at its regional processing centers, the lawsuit argues. The warehouse has only four toilets and is located in the Highlands region, the source of 70% of the state's drinking water. Scaling up the sewage system risks depleting these supplies, the suit claims, and polluting the nearby Lake Musconetcong. The state and township argue the area cannot adequately address detainee health care needs, either. Its volunteer emergency medical service has only two ambulances.
By failing to consider the environmental consequences or whether the warehouse was an "appropriate" place for detention, the lawsuit says, the federal government also violated the National Environmental Policy Act and Immigration and Nationality Act.
"The safety and well-being of New Jerseyans will always be my top priority, and the Trump Administration’s plans for a detention facility in Roxbury will not make our residents safer," Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) said in a statement. "Instead, this facility will overburden local services and infrastructure.
"These types of facilities also have a long track record of abuse, mistreatment, and unsafe conditions. This is not a partisan issue – Republican leaders in the community are similarly against this facility."
The proposed facility is one of several that DHS has eyed to implement its mass deportation goals. The agency has also targeted sites in Upper Bern Township in Berks County and Tremont Township in Schuylkill County. Last month, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) pledged to "aggressively pursue every option to prevent these facilities from opening and needlessly harming the good people of Pennsylvania." He sent two letters to former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in February, and stressed that litigation was not off the table.
The Trump Administration secretly purchased the warehouse behind me to turn into an ICE Detention Center. @DHSGov: we DO NOT want this here. pic.twitter.com/oS0ZzV5Tf7
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) February 26, 2026
"If you continue to go forward here, you will face legal and regulatory consequences here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," he said in a video posted to X. "We are not playing around. We do not want this in our state."
Philadelphia lawmakers have also made their displeasure with federal immigration operations plain. City Council will soon begin hearings on an "ICE Out" legislative package which would ban Philly agencies from collaborating with ICE and prohibit federal agents from wearing masks or using unmarked cars. The bills have supermajority support, according to Councilmember Rue Landau, meaning they could be enacted even without Mayor Cherelle Parker's signature.
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