UPPER BERN — The federal government is reviewing contracts to convert warehouses into ICE facilities such as the one purchased in Berks County, and the immigration agency is challenging Pennsylvania state orders preventing them from moving forward.
But local officials told residents this week they had "nothing new" to share about the planned local facility. During Upper Bern Township’s Board of Supervisors meeting this week, Solicitor Andrew Hoffman said there’s been “no new development since last month” and “there’s nothing new we’ve received or heard.”
Though not listed on the meeting’s agenda, Hoffman said U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R., Pa.) was slated to provide an update to residents on the status of the warehouse, but had a scheduling conflict. Requests for comment to Meuser’s office about what he planned to share at the meeting were not returned.
The Department of Homeland Security’s plans to turn a warehouse at 3501 Mountain Road into a 1,500-person processing center have hit two roadblocks in recent weeks. It’s one of two warehouses in Pennsylvania, as well as several others across the country, that DHS purchased for more than $1 billion in recent months as part of its “detention reengineering initiative.”
At the federal level, DHS has paused the purchase of new warehouses and begun scrutinizing those already purchased under former Secretary Kristi Noem. The change came shortly after Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as the new secretary of the agency.
And early last month, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued several administrative orders, effectively blocking ICE from accessing water and sewer at both the Upper Bern and Tremont warehouses, as well as occupying them, until DHS demonstrates compliance with state environmental regulations.
ICE this week filed an appeal with the state Environmental Hearing Board, challenging those orders. In its appeal filed on April 8, ICE asked the board to allow it to make “reasonable use of the water and wastewater systems” at the levels that were previously approved for the prior owners of the warehouses.
The agency argued that the orders DEP issued “are unreasonable and an abuse of discretion without legal authority,” and that the state agency failed to provide sufficient proof of why it is necessary to deny ICE use of the facilities.
“While DEP has cited publicly available information as a basis for presuming ICE’s intentions, it has failed to show in any way that ICE does not, in fact, intend to obtain all necessary permits before retrofitting the properties for their intended use,” ICE’s attorney Daniel Wilmoth wrote.
Wilmoth also suggested that DEP’s actions are partly motivated by “antipathy against ICE,” and cited examples of public statements made by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro vowing to “use every tool” at his disposal to stop ICE’s plans for the facilities.
In addition, Wilmoth argued the orders interfere with DHS’ constitutional authorities, arguing “the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity prohibits states and localities from interfering with or regulating federal operations or contractors.”
ICE said plans to develop warehouses in Pennsylvania and across the country “are ongoing and not yet finalized” and that “ICE intends to ensure that all applicable laws and regulations are adhered to and that the operation of any facilities, whether for detention or other uses, is done with careful regard for law, regulation, and public safety in general.”
An environmental attorney with knowledge of Environmental Hearing Board procedures — who asked not to be named because she is not authorized to speak on the matter— said the appeal is unlikely to move very quickly. It depends on the urgency of the parties, their timelines, and how quickly they want the process to move. Other parties, like the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority, as well as the two townships involved, also have a right to intervene during the proceedings.
ICE said in its detention reengineering initiative memo that it plans to “activate all facilities by November 30, 2026.”
Next steps for the appeal process include a conversation with both parties to discuss whether the case can be settled, and the discovery phase, during which ICE and DEP would exchange information about the case. If the board rules in favor of DEP’s orders, ICE could appeal again, and the case would go to Commonwealth Court. Commonwealth Court decisions can later be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Neither ICE nor DEP immediately responded to requests for comment.
Local and state officials have repeatedly expressed concerns that the converted warehouses could overload resources, including the water and sewer systems. In a March 24 letter to ICE, Robert DiGilarmo, DEP’s southcentral regional director, laid out the agency’s concerns.
He said the public water system at the property has never been approved to operate, and that discrepancies between the construction of the system and the construction permit must be resolved and an operating permit obtained before ICE could draw water.
Transwestern Development Company, the property’s previous owner, has received nine extensions from the township to address outstanding problems associated with the project’s land development agreement.
Sewage flows can also not be allowed without further information from ICE about how they plan to use the property, DiGilarmo said, citing the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, which “requires comprehensive sewage planning implemented by local governing bodies and approved by DEP for the purposes of orderly management of sewage that is protective of human health and the environment.”