Overview
- Hundreds rallied in Roxbury on Saturday after weeks of organizing against converting a 470,000-square-foot warehouse into an immigration detention facility.
- Property records show DHS closed on the site for $129.3 million, and officials say the facility could hold up to about 1,500 detainees.
- Highlands Act protections and New Jersey DEP sewer and water approvals are likely required for a residential conversion, and ICE has not yet filed state applications.
- Opposition spans the political spectrum, with a unanimous township council resolution and a letter from Gov. Mikie Sherrill to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem objecting on transparency, welfare and infrastructure grounds.
- DHS promotes economic benefits, projecting more than 1,000 jobs, while activists and legislators advance challenges including a bill to enable lawsuits against ICE and impose a 50% state tax on such facilities.