The Trump administration is returning to its plan to turn a North Jersey warehouse into an immigrant detention center, less than two weeks after officials had said the idea was dead.
The Department of Homeland Security paid nearly $130 million for a warehouse in Roxbury with plans to convert it to a 1,500-bed facility used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The plan has faced fierce, bipartisan opposition from state and local leaders. New Jersey and Roxbury sued over the warehouse conversion plan earlier this year, arguing the Trump administration was violating environmental protection laws.
Efforts to stop the plans appeared successful last month when federal officials said they would sell the warehouse and move on. But the Trump administration lawyers reversed course in a court filing Friday.
“Upon reconsideration, the agency intends to move forward with plans to consider the retrofitting of the Roxbury Township warehouse facility for use as a detention facility,” the filing reads.
Deliberations over the warehouse plan remain ongoing, according to the DHS filing. A status report from both sides is due to be filed this coming Friday.
A DHS spokesperson referred Gothamist to a social media post made by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on June 29, the same day federal lawyers said the government would sell the warehouse.
“DHS will NEVER back down,” Mullin wrote at the time. “We will be keeping this site for a detention center.”
That lawsuit brought by the state and Roxbury remains ongoing, and work has been halted at the site since May while environmental assessments are conducted. Steve Sigmund, a spokesperson for Gov. Mikie Sherrill, said that pause remains in effect “no matter how many contradictory court filings from the Trump Administration.” Mike Symons, a spokesperson for the New Jersey attorney general’s office, said the state “will continue whatever efforts we need to in court.”
Roxbury Mayor Shawn Potillo emphasized his town remains staunchly opposed to the detention center plan.
“This is obviously deeply disappointing news for the residents of Roxbury Township, who have demonstrated remarkable patience and resilience throughout this process,” Potillo said. “While we do not know exactly what prompted the Department of Homeland Security to reconsider its previous position, we are confident that this decision was not the result of any action, request, or change in the position of Roxbury Township.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
